90-Second Read: Boston influencer who was on board Hantavirus-hit cruise ship shares his story

Jake Rosmarin, a Boston photographer and influencer who was one of the passengers aboard the Hantavirus-hit cruise ship, shared his story with "TODAY" on... Their next stop was Cape Verde, but authorities there denied the ship from docking after Hantavirus was detected onboard. Rosmarin, a travel influencer with about 80,000 combined followers on Instagram and TikTok, gained national attention during the early days of the Hantavirus outbreak after posting a social media video that showed him emotionally reacting to the situation aboard the cruise ship. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases.

Let me be crystal clear: the risk of Hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low. Studies indicate Hantaviruses have been around for centuries, with outbreaks documented in Asia and Europe. It wasn't until the early 1990s that a previously unknown group of Hantaviruses emerged in the southwestern United States as the cause of an acute respiratory disease now known as Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. However, it is a virus that we do know about, and it took me some time over those coming days to do more research and learn more about it.

Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. Two passengers, a couple, were taken to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta after one person showed mild symptoms. We're people, people with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home. The disease gained attention last year after late actor Gene Hackman 's wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from a Hantavirus infection in New Mexico.

All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity and to get home, so if you're seeing coverage about this, just remember that there are real people behind it and this isn't something happening far away. Right now, the priority is making sure those who are sick receive the care they need, as well as getting to a place where we can safely disembark and access medical support. Brian Christine, Department of Health and Human Services' assistant secretary for health, said at Monday news conference.