FILE - Robert F. Kennedy Jr., US secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), speaks to members of the media while visiting Gilbertson Family Farm in Elk Mound, Wisconsin, US, on Monday, June 1, 2026. (Tim Evans/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. refused to release a cruise ship passenger who was exposed to hantavirus while on a cruise in early May.
The passenger has been in a quarantine facility in Nebraska despite a federal medical review that said there’s no need to confine her far from her Florida home.
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The order from Kennedy, one of the nation’s most prominent critics of vaccine mandates, lockdowns and other government public health restrictions, spurred outrage from some advocates and legal scholars, who called it illegal and rooted in politics rather than public health.
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Understanding hantavirus as passengers return home
We are learning this Monday that one American has tested positive for hantavirus and at least one other is showing mild symptoms. This comes as the group of 18 passengers from the outbreak-stricken ship arrived back in the United States. Health officials said in a press conference that plans were in place to care for the 18 people that just returned and for the other Americans aboard the cruise ship who disembarked and returned previously. LiveNOW’s Shawna Khalafi is speaking with Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, who is an infectious disease internist and educator in San Francisco, CA.
Over a month in quarantine
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Angela Perryman has been in quarantine since she left the cruise ship five weeks ago.
She was and still is symptom-free.
What they're saying:
"I want to be able to walk outside and put my feet in the grass," Perryman said in an interview. "I want to be able to feel fresh air on my face when I want to. I want to be able to see people that are not in full PPE. I don’t want to be dehumanized anymore."
American passengers who were exposed to the disease were required to be observed and quarantined either at home or at the Nebraska facility.
Courtney Spencer, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said the state of Florida chose not to comply with federal requirements for how tightly to monitor Perryman if she returned home. Perryman needs to be quarantined to protect both herself and her community, Spencer said.
Why is Perryman still in quarantine?
Symptoms of hantavirus can take as long as 42 days to manifest.
The timeframe for Americans being monitored for any signs of hantavirus symptoms is set to expire on June 21. A total of 18 Americans were evacuated to the Nebraska facility for quarantine.
As of Tuesday, eight of the American passengers remained in Nebraska while the others were allowed to go home and quarantine there while under federal officials’ supervision.
What is hantavirus?
Hantaviruses usually spread when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings. However, the Andes virus at the center of this outbreak, which killed three people, may spread between people in rare cases.
The word hantavirus refers to a broad family of viruses, with different versions in different countries.
Hantavirus infections are relatively uncommon globally. In 2025, eight countries within the Americas had documented 229 cases and 59 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
An infection can quickly become life-threatening. Death rates vary by which hantavirus causes the illness. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is fatal in about 35% of people infected, while the death rate for hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome varies from 1% to 15% of patients, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There is no treatment or cure for hantavirus, but medical experts say early diagnosis can increase the chance of survival.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press and previous reporting by LiveNOW from FOX. This story was reported from San Jose.