Monroe native quarantined in Nebraska after hantavirus outbreak aboard cruise ship

Monroe native Jake Rosmarin is spending 42 days in quarantine in Nebraska after a hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius turned a cruise into an international health emergency and sent one local family member into isolation far from home.

Rosmarin, a 2014 Monroe-Woodbury High School graduate who lives in Boston, has been at the National Quarantine Unit since May 11 and, so far, has tested negative for the virus. The routine is tightly controlled: food and supplies are delivered to his room, he gets morning and nightly temperature checks, and he joins afternoon town-hall meetings where passengers can ask questions and get updates.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said May 8 that the U.S. government was actively monitoring the outbreak and that the risk to the American public remained extremely low. The agency said impacted American passengers were to be flown on a U.S. government medical repatriation flight to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, then transferred to Nebraska quarantine facilities for observation.

Rosmarin was one of 18 Americans under observation. WBUR and The Associated Press reported that 14 other American passengers were also in the National Quarantine Unit, one positive passenger was in the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, and two others were being monitored at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. The outbreak has been linked to three deaths and 11 illnesses aboard the ship, with at least nine confirmed cases, and the strain involved was the Andes hantavirus, which can spread person to person in rare cases.

The quarantine unit itself is built for situations like this. Opened in November 2019 at Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, it is the only federally funded quarantine unit in the country. ABC News reported that the 20-bed facility includes negative-air-pressure rooms designed for highly contagious diseases.

Rosmarin has documented the experience on social media, where NBC Boston said he has about 80,000 combined followers on Instagram and TikTok. He first confirmed he was on the ship in a May 5 post and later told followers the situation was “very real,” adding that the passengers were “people with families” rather than headlines. He also has received antibody testing and PCR testing, and plans to keep getting checked as often as possible even though current public-health guidance does not require it unless symptoms appear.

His room reportedly includes a closet, smart TV, bathroom, small refrigerator, bed, chair and stationary bike, along with care packages, a mattress pad and pillows meant to make the space feel more livable. He expects to remain in quarantine until June 21 and fly back to Orange County on June 22, as officials continue watching for symptoms that can appear one to eight weeks after exposure.