ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST:
The Trump administration has imposed some controversial restrictions to keep Ebola and the hantavirus out of the U.S. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein reports on how that's affected some passengers from the cruise ship hit by the deadly hantavirus outbreak.
ROB STEIN, BYLINE: It's been more than a month since the U.S. government evacuated Angela Perryman and 17 other Americans from the cruise ship to the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha. Three cruise passengers who weren't from the U.S. died from hantavirus. When Perryman and another passenger tried to leave the Omaha facility, the CDC imposed federal mandatory quarantine orders.
ANGELA PERRYMAN: Suddenly, I couldn't leave. I feel hugely betrayed. I'm a prisoner.
STEIN: And she wasn't alone. Another passenger asked NPR not to use his name to avoid harassment.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: There were a couple of people who had decided to stay the whole time, but the rest of us were just appalled and outraged. The word is Kafkaesque. We were left there to rot.
STEIN: The 30-year-old bird photographer says he got so distraught, he went on a hunger strike and became suicidal.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: I had been in solitary confinement for 2 1/2 weeks, and I was facing the prospect of another 3 1/2 weeks. And that was pretty devastating. I knew at the time that it wasn't rational because even in the worst case, I would be out within 3 1/2 weeks, and I had the rest of my life. But, you know, there's a point at which panic and desperation and despair overtake rationality.
STEIN: He was finally allowed to quarantine in his parents' guest house when New York State agreed to post a guard outside 24/7. So far, Perryman, who's 47, hasn't been as lucky. Florida refused the federal demand for a round-the-clock guard outside her home, agreeing with most public health experts that it's unnecessary.
PERRYMAN: It's having pretty severe effects. I just generally feel unwell due to the stress. I haven't been able to eat or sleep properly. I've even had some chest pain due to the anxiety of being here. I've struggled to not cry. I'm in severe distress.
STEIN: Perryman got word this week that an internal CDC review concluded she could quarantine at home without extra restrictions, so she's hoping the government will soon let her go.
Rob Stein, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF HERMANOS GUTIERREZ'S "LOW SUN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
