CDC and Florida at odds over hantavirus cruise ship passenger’s quarantine

Health newsCDC and Florida at odds over hantavirus cruise ship passenger’s quarantine One of the 18 passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius says she feels like she’s being “held hostage” and just wants to go home.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00The first passengers from the MV Hondius depart for Tenerife's airport aboard a Spanish military emergency unit bus, at Granadilla Port in Tenerife, Canary Islands, on May 10.Andres Gutierrez / Anadolu via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 11, 2026, 3:47 PM EDTBy Erika Edwards and Maggie VespaFlorida health officials are pushing back at quarantine guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius exposed to the deadly Andes hantavirus. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.One American who was on the cruise ship says she’s stuck in the middle and unable to leave federal quarantine. “I’m being held hostage in this power struggle between a state and the federal government,” said Angela Perryman, 47, who has been at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s National Quarantine Unit since May 11. “I don’t think there has been a day since I’ve been here that I didn’t cry,” she said.Perryman said that health officials previously told passengers that they would be able to leave federal quarantine by the end of May and spend the rest of their 42-day quarantine under home supervision. The first five went home June 1. Like all Americans aboard the cruise ship, Perryman has tested negative for the Andes virus.Angela Perryman, seen here on an excursion from the MV Hondius, said she hasn't been able to go a day without crying since she disembarked.Courtesy Angela PerrymanStates were required by the CDC to station law enforcement or public health employees outside the homes of quarantined passengers for surveillance. It was up to state health departments to figure out how...