Overview
- Eighteen Americans exposed on the MV Hondius were repatriated from the Canary Islands on May 11 and placed in the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha for a 42‑day observation period.
- Two of the three New Yorkers will fly on non‑commercial flights to residences outside New York City and finish their monitoring there with isolation agreements that end on June 22.
- The CDC initially asked states to post law‑enforcement officers outside returning passengers’ homes and then revised the plan to require 24‑hour monitoring by health workers after state officials raised cost and authority concerns.
- None of the U.S. passengers at the Nebraska unit have developed symptoms so far, and a retired physician who first tested positive was later medically cleared.
- Andes hantavirus is carried by rodents and only rarely spreads between people after prolonged close contact, which is why agencies set a 42‑day window and continue genome testing, ship disinfection and contact tracing as WHO warns more cases could appear.