Surveillance ordered for US hantavirus ship passengers who go home

NEW YORK – At least some of the 18 American cruise ship passengers potentially exposed to the hantavirus will be allowed to leave a quarantine facility on June 1, after nearly three weeks in isolation.

But federal officials have said that the passengers should remain in their homes and under constant surveillance by law enforcement or public health workers for another three weeks – an approach that greatly exceeds typical public health protocols.

“Apparently, the CDC wants some kind of local guard or person to watch over individuals to ensure that they don’t leave their homes,” said Mr Steven Hyman, a lawyer representing two passengers who are New York residents, citing information provided by his clients and referring to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It appeared earlier this week that Mr Hyman’s clients might be prevented from leaving the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska, the only federally funded facility of its kind.

But late on May 29, Dr James McDonald, the New York health commissioner, said they would return home on a non-commercial flight, and could isolate in their residences until June 22.

Federal health officials did not reply to questions about the release conditions, but the Department of Health and Human Services said that the “CDC’s top priority has been the health and safety of the returned US passengers and American communities”.

It remains unclear how many of the passengers will leave the Nebraska facility on June 1. At least some have expressed a desire to remain in the quarantine unit for the virus’ full 42-day incubation period in case they develop symptoms. None have so far.

The 18 passengers were among a group of Americans on a cruise ship that became the centre of a global hantavirus outbreak in May.

After being repatriated from the Canary Islands on May 11, they have been housed in federally funded facilities for observation, though none appear to have the disease.

In a call on the evening of May 27, officials from the federal CDC initially asked states to post a law enforcement officer outside the passengers’ homes if they left the facility, according to several people briefed on the details who were not authorised to speak publicly.

The agency revised the plan, calling for 24/7 monitoring by a health worker, after state officials raised questions about cost and authorisation.

The Trump administration’s restrictions have far exceeded those that US health officials used to successfully contain a 2018 hantavirus outbreak. NYTIMES