Passengers from hantavirus-linked ship may leave Nebraska under certain conditions, officials say

The cruise ship passengers being monitored for hantavirus in Nebraska will be allowed to leave the medical facility before the end of a 42-day period if certain conditions are met, a public health official indicated Monday.

The individuals will remain at the facility in Nebraska for at least a few days during assessments, said Brendan Jackson, acting director of the Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.

They will have the choice to stay in Nebraska all 42 days if they wish, but if they choose to return home, there will be several factors that play into the decision, such as whether "they remain symptom free," he said.

Health officials will also assess whether passengers can safely isolate at home, maintain contact with local health departments and quickly access testing or medical care if symptoms develop.

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Only those who can meet those standards, and whose home states can coordinate monitoring, will be cleared to leave.

Still, officials emphasized that the final decision will ultimately involve the passengers themselves.

"Yes," Jackson said when asked if it would be their choice. "We want to do this in the least restrictive way possible… that protects the health and safety of both the passengers and their communities."

Jackson noted passengers can remain at the facility for the full monitoring period if needed.

Of the 18 individuals transported back to the U.S. after a hantavirus outbreak tied to a cruise ship, 16 are now in Nebraska, while two are in Atlanta.

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Fifteen of the individuals in Nebraska are in quarantine, while one was placed in the biocontainment unit, noted Michael Wadman, medical director of the National Quarantine Unit at University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Angela Hewlett, medical director of the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, noted during the press conference that the individual in the biocontainment unit previously had an "equivocal positive test," which she noted was "not in the United States." The person was not experiencing any symptoms, she said.

One of the passengers transported to Atlanta was symptomatic, Matthew Ferreira of HHS noted.

The risk hantavirus poses to the general public is "very, very low," Adm. Brian Christine, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said during the news conference.

"The Andes variant of this virus does not spread easily and it requires prolonged, close contact with someone who is already symptomatic," he explained.

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The CDC explains online, "Andes virus is the only type of hantavirus that is known to spread person-to-person. This spread is usually limited to people who have close contact with a sick person. This includes direct physical contact, prolonged time spent in close or enclosed spaces, and exposure to the sick person's body fluids."

Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.