90-Second Read: Nebraska Medicine will quarantine American citizens on cruise ship impacted by Hantavirus outbreak

Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center confirmed that they have been requested to receive and monitor American citizens on the cruise ship impacted by the Hantavirus outbreak. Officials said Nebraska Medicine and UNMC are working with the Douglas County Health Department, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and federal health officials to coordinate the effort. Nebraska Medicine and UNMC treated patients during the 2014 Ebola outbreak and cared for some of the first Americans diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020.

The individuals will be observed in the National Quarantine Unit, the only federally funded quarantine unit in the United States, which is on the campus of the Nebraska Medical Center and UNMC. There are an estimated 17 Americans on board the cruise ship, according to its operator, Oceanwide Expeditions. Five states, Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas and Virginia, are already monitoring seven passengers who previously disembarked from the ship.

New Jersey also said it is monitoring two people who were potentially exposed to a person infected with Hantavirus after departing MV Hondius. Eight Hantavirus cases, all among passengers on the MV Hondius, have already been identified. The quarantine process will allow for observation during the incubation period of the virus while eliminating any potential risk of spread, according to officials.