RFK Jr. Orders FL Woman Exposed To Hantavirus To Remain Quarantined

Despite being cleared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to return home, a Florida woman exposed to hantavirus on the MV Honda Cruise is being forced to remain quarantined at a Nebraska facility against her will, multiple reports said.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday signed an order to continue the quarantine of Angela Perryman, 47, one of 18 Americans from the ship who were exposed to the virus in early May.

Three people died in the outbreak.

Perryman has tested negative for hantavirus and doesn’t have any symptoms.

Others from the cruise ship who were held at the National Quarantine Unit (NQU) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center were allowed to return home on May 31.

Still, as of Tuesday, she remained quarantined, despite the recommendation from Dr. Michael Bell, the CDC’s quarantine medical reviewer, that she should return home for the remainder of her six-week quarantine.

“In my professional judgment, this less restrictive alternative is adequate to protect public health,” he wrote in a report, according to the New York Times.

As of Wednesday morning, eight people remain at the NQU, while 10 returned home to complete their monitoring, the CDC said.

“All people remain symptom-free and have met the criteria established by public health officials to safely continue monitoring at home,” the agency said.

Just ahead of Kennedy’s order, Perryman told Today that conditions at the NQU were like being in “prison” and “solitary confinement.”

Her attorneys told Today that Florida health officials and the CDC can’t agree on the conditions of her home quarantine.

“I’m caught in a power struggle between the federal government and the state of Florida, and I’m being held hostage,” Perryman said.

Courtney Spencer, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said that Florida officials don’t want to comply with federal requirements for how tightly to monitor Perryman if she returned home for the remainder of her quarantine.

June 21 at midnight will mark the end of her 42-day monitoring period.

Public health law expert Lawrence Gostin, who helped shape the current federal quarantine regulations, called the decision to keep Perryman at the NQU “an egregious violation” of a U.S. citizen’s rights.

“She’s being held, deprived of her liberty,” he said.

“I want to be able to walk outside and put my feet in the grass,” Perryman said. “I want to be able to feel fresh air on my face when I want to. I want to be able to see people that are not in full PPE. I don’t want to be dehumanized anymore.”

This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.