Passenger ‘Betrayed’ by Federal Hantavirus Quarantine Order

An American passenger evacuated from a cruise ship devastated by a hantavirus outbreak has been ordered by federal authorities to remain in quarantine against her will — the first time the U.S. government has issued a mandatory quarantine order since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Angela Perryman, 47, who was aboard the MV Hondius expedition cruise ship, says she feels “betrayed” and “imprisoned” after being handed a legal order on May 18 requiring her to stay at the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, Nebraska, until May 31, according to NPR.

The Outbreak

The MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged vessel operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, experienced a hantavirus outbreak in April and May 2026 during an Atlantic Odyssey cruise that departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on March 20. At least 11 people were infected, and three passengers — a Dutch couple and a German national — died. The outbreak involves the Andes strain of hantavirus (Andes orthohantavirus), a rare variant found primarily in South America that is unique among hantaviruses for its ability to spread between humans through prolonged close contact with symptomatic individuals, as The Guardian reported.

From Voluntary to Mandatory

Eighteen American passengers were evacuated from the Canary Islands on a U.S. Department of State-chartered flight and transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) on May 11. Initially, Trump administration officials publicly stated the quarantine was voluntary and took pains to avoid using the word “quarantine,” reflecting deep sensitivity to post-pandemic backlash against lockdowns and mandates, as NPR previously reported.

Perryman worked out a plan to leave Omaha and self-monitor in Florida. But when she and at least one other passenger attempted to leave, they were handed a legal order signed by NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya — who was also serving as acting CDC director — requiring them to remain until May 31.

“I am angry. I feel betrayed,” Perryman told NPR. “I’m being imprisoned. It’s a nice prison. But this is a prison. Let’s be clear: I am being detained against my will.”

Unequal Treatment

Approximately 20 other Americans who were potentially exposed to the virus have been allowed to quarantine at home across several states, including Texas, California, Washington, and Virginia, where they are monitored by local health departments with daily symptom and temperature checks. Perryman argues she should receive the same treatment, especially since she only had passing contact with a sick passenger and remains asymptomatic.

“I’m absolutely fine with home quarantine. I’m absolutely fine with being monitored by public health officials,” she said. “I understand how dangerous this disease is and absolutely would never do something that would put individuals in the community at risk.”

The CDC has not publicly explained why Perryman and one other passenger received mandatory orders while others did not, as Healio reported.

The Virus and the Facility

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses carried mainly by rodents. The Andes strain, however, is unique for its demonstrated ability to spread between humans. Fatality rates in some Andes virus outbreaks have ranged from 30% to 40%, and the incubation period can extend up to 42 days, explaining the lengthy monitoring timeline. Early symptoms resemble influenza: fever, muscle aches, headache, nausea, cough, and shortness of breath.

The passengers are housed at the National Quarantine Unit within the Davis Global Center at UNMC — the only federally funded quarantine facility of its kind in the United States. The facility previously housed Ebola patients evacuated from West Africa during the 2014 outbreak and Americans quarantined after evacuation flights from Wuhan, China during COVID-19.

Legal Debate

Legal experts are divided on the strength of the government’s case. Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University, told NPR that the CDC is on solid legal ground. “The evidence in favor of CDC is very strong. She was clearly exposed to a rare form of hantavirus. The virus is clearly a risk to others person-to-person, and she needs to be separated from the population for a period of time.”

But James Hodge, director of the Center for Public Health Law and Policy at Arizona State University, suggested Perryman may have a viable due process challenge. “Absent more direct evidence of the real risks that these persons present and their unwillingness potentially to adhere to home quarantine or something less restrictive than being held in a federal facility in Nebraska, there’s a very real legal case that could be made to say: ‘This is a due process violation.’”

Perryman has indicated she plans to challenge the order legally. “If they can do this to me they could do it to anybody,” she said. “They could come up with a similarly unsupported order and lock you up in the same facility.”

What’s Next

Perryman’s mandatory quarantine order is scheduled to end May 31, though the full 42-day incubation monitoring period extends until approximately June 22. The MV Hondius arrived in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on May 18 for disinfection, as France 24 reported. Public health experts say this case may set important precedents for how the federal government balances quarantine powers with individual rights in future health emergencies, including the ongoing Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The central question remains: can the government detain an asymptomatic individual who is willing to comply with home quarantine, or does the high fatality rate of Andes hantavirus justify the most restrictive public health measures available under federal law?