A woman exposed to hantavirus on the MV Hondius cruise has been instructed by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to remain in federal quarantine. This is despite a health expert deeming her fit to return home to Florida.
Angela Perryman, the involved passenger, expressed her feelings of confinement, stating that she feels like she is “in prison” and believes the health system is treating her as “a prop and a political stunt.”
Perryman is one of 18 US cruise passengers sent to the National Quarantine Unit at Nebraska Medical Center in early May for medical monitoring after being exposed to this rare strain of hantavirus.
While some passengers have chosen to remain for the entire 42-day quarantine, the majority opted to leave and continue their isolation at home. Those who departed were permitted to do so on the condition that their state health departments would monitor their symptoms daily and provide continuous oversight until June 21—ten individuals have left.
However, Perryman, who had hoped to return home by June 1, has not been able to do so. Florida has not agreed to the federal monitoring requirements.
On Monday, Kennedy signed an order maintaining her federal quarantine status.
“Right now, I feel like just a hostage,” said Perryman, 47, during her conversation with CNN.
The initial federal quarantine was supposed to end on May 31, but the CDC extended it through June 21.
Perryman sought a medical review of this extended order, headed by Dr. Michael Bell from the CDC. He and other experts presented their findings during hearings, leading to the conclusion that rescinding the federal quarantine order would be safe, provided the Florida Department of Health accepted responsibility for monitoring her.
Florida, however, suggested a less rigorous approach—once-daily telehealth monitoring—while Bell contended this would still effectively adhere to the original quarantine intent of protecting public health.
He noted, “This less restrictive alternative is adequate to protect public health,” suggesting the measures imposed were not the least strict necessary.
Yet on Monday, Kennedy disagreed, affirming in an order that the federal quarantine requirements remained justified for public health reasons.
Interestingly, Kennedy’s order did not address the details highlighted in Bell’s report, which spanned nine pages.
A spokesperson for HHS noted that Kennedy had indeed considered the medical recommendation but ultimately deemed the continuation of the quarantine necessary to safeguard both Perryman and her community.
Questions directed to Nebraska Medical about the quarantine were referred to the CDC, while the Florida Department of Health has not responded to inquiries.
Perryman indicated a complete loss of trust in public health officials and the CDC, expressing frustration over what she perceived as broken promises.
She remarked, “If it had been clear from the start why this was necessary and there was a scientific basis, I could have accepted it. But it feels arbitrary.”
Dr. Michael Wadman, medical director at the quarantine unit, had previously assured her that she could return home after a few weeks of voluntary quarantine. She felt he appealed to their sense of duty.
Perryman spent $4,000 to rent a private house in Florida, intending to have a safe space for the end of her quarantine period.
Nebraska Medicine indicated that accurate information was shared based on what was known at the time, yet acknowledged the need for federal coordination with state authorities regarding the logistics of such transitions.
On the day Kennedy’s order was communicated, Perryman asked Wadman to slide the document under her door as she wished to avoid direct communication.
She stated, “We’re not patients anymore; we are just detainees,” expressing how the situation has felt diminished in respect and responsibility.
Staff at the quarantine unit check temperatures bi-daily while donned in personal protective equipment and deliver meals. Perryman reported she gets an hour outside each day.
“I could check my temperature just as easily in a living room as here,” she said, likening her situation to solitary confinement.
