Monroe native Jake Rosmarin shares quarantine experience

Monroe native Jake Rosmarin, who was a passenger aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship that experienced an outbreak of hantavirus last month, has been in quarantine at the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska since May 11.

“Our days are relaxed,” said Rosmarin, 29. “Food and things are delivered to the room. We have a morning and nightly temperature check and an afternoon town hall meeting where we ask questions and get updates on food delivery and things like the possibility of having bird feeders outside our windows so we can get a little bit of normalcy.”

Rosmarin continues to test negative for hantavirus

The 2014 Monroe-Woodbury High School graduate has thus far tested negative for hantavirus.

“I have had antibody testing and taken the PCR test and will be opting for the PCR test as often as I can even though Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization guidelines say you don’t have to get tested unless you are symptomatic,” said Rosmarin, who lives in Boston. “Sometimes, the test results show before symptoms.”

Monroe native ‘taking things in stride,’ heads back to Orange County next month

Rosmarin, a content creator who estimates he unintentionally gained more than 200,000 social media followers since posting about his experience aboard the ship last month, is taking things in stride.

“They are doing everything to make sure we are as comfortable as possible here,” he said. “We get care packages and I have an exercise bike and other things that make my room feel more like home. My last day should be June 21 and then I will fly to Orange County June 22.”

Rosmarin shares updates on social media

Rosmarin began posting updates on his social media channels May 3 once he and his fellow passengers were alerted to a hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius.

“We’re not just a story,” he said in a May 7 Instagram post. “We’re not just headlines. We’re people with families...all we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity and to get home.”

What is hantavirus?

Since the Dutch expedition ship set sail from Argentina on April 1 three passenger deaths have been attributed to the virus with others showing possible signs of infection, according to Rosmarin and the Associated Press. Anchored near Cape Verde, Africa on May 7, the ship’s next destination was the Canary Islands for medical screening and repatriation. That is where Rosmarin got off the ship and “felt a bit of relief,” he told NBC.

According to the World Health Organization, hantavirus can spread by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings though human-to-human transmission is uncommon.