90-Second Read: Americans exposed to Hantavirus on cruise ship to arrive in Omaha for monitoring

The World Health Organization says six confirmed cases of Hantavirus and two suspected cases are linked to the outbreak on the ship. This is not the first time Omaha has found itself at the center of an infectious disease outbreak. And in 2020, 13 Americans exposed to COVID-19 on a cruise ship docked in San Francisco were flown to Nebraska Medicine, some of the first Americans to be diagnosed with COVID. The first waves of passengers started flying home this afternoon from Spain. They have confirmed this issues that all the passengers are asymptomatic.

This unprecedented operation is going as planned," said Monica Garcia, health minister of Spain. Instead, they'll be monitored and assessed for a shorter stay, then likely go home for a self-monitoring period. Another person possibly exposed to Ebola came to the med center in 2019. The CDC tells NBC News the passengers will not be placed under quarantine upon their arrival at the UNMC-Nebraska Medicine campus. Officials at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine previously said they would stay in the National Quarantine Unit on the campus for up to six weeks.

A dozen countries are getting their citizens back home while working to keep the virus contained. Before the flights started taking off today, Spain officials stressed the public does not need to worry. We have all the ingredients to make sure the public is safe, which is a number one priority," said Dr. In 2014, two Ebola patients were taken to Nebraska Medicine for treatment. We have an interdisciplinary team that's very competent.

UNMC's interim chancellor said each passenger's exposure varies, and their team is ready to handle whatever gets thrown their way. We have experts here who have been doing this for many years. The biocontainment unit there is one of just a few in the country capable of taking patients who could start devastating epidemics.