90-Second Read: CDC not requiring Hantavirus cruise passengers to isolate at home

Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship poses low risk to public, says CDC. No formal quarantine order in place, but passengers encouraged to isolate. As of the most recent update, the Hantavirus outbreak has grown to 11 cases.

Fitter said his agency has already held two briefings on Capitol Hill regarding the outbreak. Given the virus's incubation period, the CDC is maintaining a 42-day monitoring period, which they consider having begun on May 11 and set to end on June 22. Hantavirus is generally considered to not be transmissible from person-to-person, apart from the Andes virus strain that spread on the MV Hondius.

When asked about individuals quarantining at home, Fitter said the CDC is currently taking a "conservative approach" that involves "encouraging" people to stay home during the monitoring period. Currently, there are no state or federal quarantine orders that have been drawn. Even then, person-to-person transmission requires prolonged contact with an infected person, such as among members of the same household sharing a bed, intimate partners and medical providers.