Tour inside the isolation ward after the hantavirus outbreak
Boston travel influencer Jake Rosmarin is quarantining in Nebraska after being exposed to MV Hondius amid a deadly hantavirus outbreak.
The past few weeks have been a roller coaster for Jake Rosmarin.
The Boston travel influencer was one of 18 American passengers on board the MV Hondius cruise ship. The ship was at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak that made international headlines. Rosmarin and most of the other Americans were transferred to a quarantine center in Nebraska where they are being monitored for symptoms.
Rosmarin is currently asymptomatic. But he says he plans to quarantine in Nebraska for a full 42 days, the approximate incubation period for the virus, out of concern for the safety of others, including his fiancée back home.
“From the beginning, we were going to have the option to stay for the full 42 days,” he says. “I decided right away that I wanted to be here for those 42 days because I knew that no matter what happened, I would receive the best care possible.”
Moreover, there is no place in the house where you can isolate yourself, at least not completely.
“I can’t go to my fiancé and stay with him in Boston because we live in a small apartment and I don’t want to risk exposing him,” he says. He added that his parents’ basement in New York wasn’t ideal either. “God, I don’t want anything to happen. I don’t think I’ll be able to get the medical care I need in that county in New York. I’ll end up being taken somewhere else and that could cause problems as well.”
He’s spending 42 days in hantavirus isolation: what it’s like
Rosmarin told USA TODAY on May 12 that she was nearing the end of her second day in quarantine. He’s not used to the routine yet. He has no idea what a day in his life will actually be like.
He has a thermometer in his room so he can check his temperature. He took a blood test earlier that day. He also has a stationary bike in his room, which he plans to put to use. If there was a safe way to spend time outside, I would do it, but I haven’t been given that option right now. He admits he’s not much of a reader, but he plans to watch a lot of TV over the next month and a half.
During that time, he received numerous calls from reporters and loved ones. He speaks frequently with his fiancée, Alex, who worries about him from afar.
“I talk to him every day,” Rosmarin says. “I think he has his ups and downs. I think he struggles sometimes, but I think he’s been very strong for me, and he’s been my rock. He’s been my biggest supporter and really helped me through all of this.”
The sense of isolation has not yet fully settled in. His family sent him a care package, which he had not yet opened at the time of the interview, but he believes it contains a coloring book, which he is looking forward to. We also think families can send digital photo frames to share photos remotely.
“We’re just trying to make it feel very homey,” Rosmarin said of the isolation room. “I don’t really feel alone. It’s just not the same as being there in person with them.”
The medical staff is doing their best to make life as comfortable as possible for him. Once, he almost got emotional when a nurse brought him a Starbucks drink, which he hasn’t been able to enjoy for over six weeks. What are his orders? Iced horchata shake espresso with oat milk and vanilla cold foam.
“I had mentioned several times that I wanted to eat Starbucks, and this morning one of the nurses asked me what I would order if that were possible,” he says. “It was definitely a big surprise when they were able to deliver it to me today as well. They are very nice here.”
Keeping the fear of a pandemic in perspective
The recent hantavirus outbreak has sparked fear and health concerns on social media, with some wondering whether the virus could cause a pandemic like the coronavirus six years ago.
Rosmarin says she saw the conversation. And while hantaviruses do cause serious illness, he urges people to remain concerned about widespread spread.
“It’s not coronavirus,” he says. “For people like us, who are at risk of exposure after being on a boat for five to six weeks with people, it’s scary, or even scarier. But for people who don’t come into contact with us, and given that everyone who comes into contact with us is heavily protected and wearing protective gear, I don’t think anyone has anything to worry about.”
Rosmarin says she’s finally starting to feel better in quarantine after a tumultuous travel experience.
“I’m optimistic,” he says. “I think it was during those seven unknown days on the ship that I was scared. And now I’m in an optimistic phase. And of course there may be ups and downs from there. But for now, I’m optimistic. I’m trying to stay positive. And I know I can get through this, and I’ll be a stronger person for going through this experience.”
