5 American cruise ship passengers leave Nebraska quarantine facility
[June 02, 2026]
By JOSH FUNK and MIKE STOBBE
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Five of the 18 American cruise ship passengers who
have been staying at a national quarantine facility in Nebraska after
being exposed to hantavirus are going home, U.S. health officials said
Monday.
The five people will complete their monitoring at home after remaining
symptom-free and meeting criteria for monitoring outside the quarantine
unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
They are leaving Omaha about three weeks after they and the 13 other
Americans arrived in Nebraska following a deadly outbreak of hantavirus
on a cruise ship traveling in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Hantaviruses usually spread when people inhale contaminated residue of
rodent droppings, but the hantavirus that has caused the current
outbreak, called the Andes virus, may be able to spread between people
in rare cases.
A total of 13 confirmed or probable hantavirus cases, including three
deaths, have been linked to the ship, according to the World Health
Organization.
No Andes virus cases have been confirmed in the U.S., and the risk to
the public remains low, health officials said.
None of the U.S. passengers has shown any symptoms, a spokesperson for
Nebraska Medicine said Monday.
Symptoms of hantavirus have taken as long as 42 days to appear in
previous outbreaks, but some medical experts say most people who develop
symptoms do so within 21 days.
The doctors in Omaha monitoring the passengers had said previously that
they would work with each person individually to determine if it was
appropriate for them to go home to finish their recommended 42-day
quarantine period.
Federal officials arranged travel for the five people going home, in
coordination with state and local authorities. Officials said the travel
was not to be on commercial flights, with appropriate biocontainment
measures in place. State health departments will continue daily symptom
monitoring, maintain 24/7 oversight and provide guidance.
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The MV Hondius cruise ship arrives at the Port of Rotterdam,
Netherlands, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
 Two of the people returning to their
homes live outside New York City, said city Health Commissioner Dr.
Alister Martin.
One of the remaining passengers, Jake Rosmarin, posted on his blog
Sunday that he plans to stay at the Omaha unit for his final three
weeks of quarantine because he would have immediate access to care
if he gets sick and he doesn’t want to risk unnecessarily exposing
anyone else.
Rosmarin, who posts daily updates about his experience, said he’s
not judging anyone who decided to go home.
“For me personally, this experience has been incredibly traumatic,"
Rosmarin said. “I don’t think I’ve fully processed everything yet,
and right now I don’t want to leave until I know there is no risk of
me getting sick or putting my family, friends, or the general public
at risk.”
Not everyone quarantined in Nebraska has been happy about it. About
a week after the 18 arrived, U.S. health officials issued quarantine
orders forcing two passengers who wanted to leave to stay there.
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Stobbe reported from New York.
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