MAY 29, 2026
Hantavirus-exposed cruise passengers may return home but face 24/7 state monitoring requirement
Eighteen Americans quarantined at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after exposure to the Andes strain of hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship may be allowed to return home as early as Monday, under a federal requirement that states post a full-time monitor outside their residences for the remaining three weeks of a 42-day quarantine period. There have been 13 confirmed cases of Andes hantavirus linked to the ship and three deaths. New York has declined to accept passengers under the new monitoring conditions, according to passengers who participated in a Thursday video call with federal officials.
The 18 Americans disembarked the MV Hondius on May 10 in the Canary Islands after several passengers became severely ill during a voyage to remote South Atlantic islands. The Andes strain of hantavirus, which can spread from person to person, was eventually identified as the cause; the World Health Organization recommended a 42-day quarantine period for those exposed.
Federal officials told passengers on a Thursday video call that they could return home under a condition that a monitor — described as potentially a police officer or a public health worker — be stationed outside their homes around the clock for the quarantine's final three weeks. According to two passengers who participated in the call and spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, Dr. David Fitter, leading the CDC's hantavirus response, and Dr. Denis Fitzgerald of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response said the 24/7 monitoring requirement was set at a level of government "above the director of the CDC." A separate CDC official told CNN the decisions were being made at the "highest levels" of the federal government.
The requirement represents a more intensive posture than the CDC's earlier guidance, which recommended that state health departments conduct twice-daily in-person visits to exposed passengers. Infectious disease experts cited in CNN's reporting described that prior plan as more intensive than standard protocols used for diseases like tuberculosis, which typically rely on regular phone calls rather than in-person checks.