The Tamesis
One of them is a New Yorker 16 American passengers They are in quarantine in Nebraska after being on the cruise ship at the center of the deadly incident hantavirus outbreak.
Jake Rosmarin is one of three people New Yorker who is there Hongdis. Rosmarin, of Monroe, N.Y., described his experience so far in the state quarantine unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
“I know I’m in the best care and I’m just trying to stay positive,” he told CBS News New York’s Mary Calvey on Wednesday.
Since the outbreak began, there have been 11 confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus, including three deaths.
Seventeen Americans and one British dual citizen flew to the United States on Monday. U.S. health officials said Sunday that of the 18 people, one tested “mild PCR positive” for the Andes strain of hantavirus and another began to show symptoms.
Including the one who tested positive, 16 Americans bring to University of Nebraska Medical Center. Fifteen of them, including Rosemary, were housed in single rooms at the National Quarantine Facility at the Medical Center. The person who tested positive for the Andes strain was initially housed in the center’s biocontainment unit but was moved to an isolation unit on Wednesday after being medically cleared.
“I feel good,” Rosmarin said. “I don’t have any symptoms, I’m just ready for the next 40 days of quarantine.”
At the same time, symptomatic passengers and those traveling with them, flown over Traveled to Atlanta to be treated and monitored in a biocontainment facility at Emory University Hospital.
What is daily life like in quarantine?
Rosmarin said that while in isolation, he checked his temperature every day and had regular blood tests. He also has a stationary bike in his room for exercise. It also offers Wi-Fi and a bathroom. He said he had a window but kept it closed because “there were people outside so I didn’t need them to look into my room.”
Michael Wadman, medical director of the state quarantine unit, told reporters there was no mixing between passengers and tourists other than medical staff.
Rosmarin described his room as “much more spacious than a boat.”
“We don’t have a lot going on during the day…for the most part, we’re just here to relax and get comfortable,” he added.
However, Rosmarin said he did not receive regular updates from the outside about the conditions of other passengers.
“I’m not really sure anything is going on outside this room,” he said.
‘It was a terrible time’
Rosmarin said the trip was “unbelievable” until the last 24 to 48 hours before they were initially scheduled to disembark. That’s when Hondius passengers learned there was a confirmed case Hantavirushe said.
“Everything was going downhill,” Rosmarin explained. “…The week before we disembarked and were deported from the United States, that was a very scary time, especially for me,” he said.
Rosmarin said the scary thing is that no government wants the ship to disembark at its port because of the virus. Spain eventually agreed to dock the ship in the Canary Islands. Nearly 150 people from 15 countries were on board when the evacuation began on Sunday. Evacuees were put on repatriation flights back to their respective countries, with American passengers arriving in Omaha, Nebraska, on Monday. A skeleton crew stayed behind to sail the Dutch-flagged Hondis toward the Netherlands.
once in a lifetime trip
Rosmarin described the trip as an adventure and said the passengers were not on a typical cruise ship. Due to the small number of people, all passengers know each other.
He said some of their destinations included South Georgia and Tristan da Cunha, where they saw the largest colony of king penguins in the world.
“We have to swim in the middle of the ocean not far from the equator, where the depth is over 15,000 feet,” he said. “Overall, I mean, it was a very, very incredible experience.”
