Kennedy keeps hantavirus cruise passenger in Nebraska quarantine
9 reported2 unconfirmed
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has refused to release a cruise ship passenger exposed to hantavirus from a quarantine facility in Nebraska, overruling a federal medical review that recommended she be allowed to return home. The passenger, Angela Perryman, has been symptom-free for five weeks and remains confined at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Kennedy’s order came Monday, following a June 11 report by Dr. Michael Bell of the CDC that recommended Perryman be allowed to go home under Florida’s proposed monitoring plan. Florida officials had refused federal conditions requiring daily in-person monitoring and round-the-clock surveillance, instead proposing once-daily temperature checks and symptom assessments. Perryman was among 18 Americans evacuated from a cruise ship on May 11; eight passengers remain at the facility as of Tuesday. The quarantine period is set to expire on June 21.
What’s reported
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. refused to release cruise ship passenger Angela Perryman from a Nebraska quarantine facility.
Perryman was exposed to hantavirus in early May and has been symptom-free for five weeks.
A federal medical review overseen by Dr. Michael Bell of the CDC recommended Perryman be allowed to go home.
Florida officials refused federal conditions for home monitoring and proposed once-daily temperature checks and symptom assessments.
Kennedy signed the quarantine order on Monday, June 15 (implied by article date).
Perryman is among 18 Americans evacuated from the cruise ship on May 11; eight remain at the facility as of Tuesday.
The quarantine period is set to expire on June 21.
Hantavirus symptoms have taken as long as 42 days to appear in previous outbreaks.
The Andes virus at the center of the outbreak killed three people and may spread between people in rare cases.
Open questions
Why Florida officials refused the federal monitoring conditions is not fully explained beyond the article’s description of the conditions.
Whether Perryman will be released on June 21 as scheduled is not stated.
Key figures
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Health Secretary
Angela Perryman, cruise ship passenger
Courtney Spencer, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Lawrence Gostin, public health law expert
Dr. Michael Bell, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, acting director of the CDC
Sources: abcnews.com
