LIVE UPDATE: Health officials address quarantine of U.S. hantavirus cruise ship passengers

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]Newer, the director of public health uh for the state of Nebraska.

[00:00:04]And before I take your questions, I just want to say that UNMC and Nebraska medicine are are very honored to have this responsibility uh to repatriate these American citizens. There is no place in the country uh that they could be better cared for uh more safely uh and and more effectively.

[00:00:24]As the governor said, it is the people of the state of Nebraska. And indeed here in this microcosm, it is the people of UNMC and of Nebraska medicine that really make a difference to truly uh lead the world. And today, as you're all gathered here, uh there is no other place in the country where they could be more safely uh and more humanistically uh cared for. We have a very simple rule here and having served as the chancellor of the med center for more than a decade of my life. If we treat our patients the way we treat family members and loved ones, we're going to be okay. And uh and that's the rule. So with that, we're very willing to take your questions.

[00:01:01]There are microphones uh that we will pass around. If you do have a question, uh I will recognize you and uh there are some folks who are carrying the microphones just to be sure uh that everybody can hear your question. And if there's a specific individual that you want to address it to, that's fine. We can just have volunteers. So, >> hi Waverly Monroe with KV. Just wanted to talk a little bit about um AP confirmed overnight that there was a person who was experiencing symptoms but may have not been tested positive for HANA virus. Um can you talk a little bit more about that? And is that person at the national quarantine unit or is that person at the Nebraska Bioontainment Unit.

[00:01:53]>> That's right. And so part of the decision was to make sure that they preserve space within the the bioontainment unit here. Make sure there's care for anyone who might need it among the other passengers.

[00:02:05]Other patients were sorry passengers were flown to Atlanta for further assessment and care there.

[00:02:12]>> So that person is not here.

[00:02:14]>> Correct.

[00:02:18]So again just to be very clear on that point uh we want to maintain optimal space in our bioontainment facilities on the small chance that it becomes necessary to use that space the individuals who are transported. If you don't mind I just love to add that we're going to expect to see people have symptoms that's just you know if you think in any given week or month how many times do you experience some level of nasal congestion or upset stomach or something? We're being very very liberal in how framing symptoms and monitoring for symptoms here. And so that's how the system is working. It doesn't necessarily mean just because someone has symptoms that they're going to end up having this illness.

[00:03:01]>> Hi Diane Gallagher, CNN. Could you clarify first then how many of the p the passengers who were on the plane from the cruise are here and how many have been moved to another facility in the country.

[00:03:18]>> I can just address that briefly. So of the 18 16 are 16 passengers are here and two are in Atlanta >> and the bioontainment unit we have the one who had the mildly positive uh PCR test. Can you explain a little bit more about mildly positive? Uh I I initially thought that we were not testing people who were not symptomatic. I know they said this person was not symptomatic.

[00:03:39]Can you go into a little bit more about what it means to be mildly positive?

[00:03:44]>> Sure. And and I welcome my colleagues from the University of Nebraska to weigh in on as well. But I I'll note that uh so this passenger this was this test was not collected in the United States. The specimen was collected uh back I believe in uh one of the islands. was taken on the ship. Uh there were two specimens.

[00:04:02]One was positive uh and the other one was was negative. You know, with with these PCR tests, it's not uh necessar like even though there's a sort of exact cut off, there's sort of a range and where they can fall. And so for that reason, we want to just want to make sure there's further testing to evaluate that at this point.

[00:04:19]>> And are the two individuals who stayed here, one of whom is in the bioontainment unit, did they have prolonged contact with each other and that's why they're both here?

[00:04:28]What was the I guess the idea behind moving the 16 to other parts of >> sorry so so 16 people are are here uh and for all the reasons that was mentioned can you repeat again what your your question was related to that >> I guess the two who were moved >> what was the reasoning behind moving them beside was it just space or were they traveling together are we keeping people together since this is a prolonged contact >> got It may be helpful for you all to explain the difference between the sections within University of Nebraska Medical Center as well.

[00:05:04]>> Sure. I'm Mike Wad. I'm an emergency physician and the medical director of the quarantine unit.

[00:05:10]We welcomed 15 address. The 15 that were welcomed here were in good They were in good spirits.

[00:05:28]They definitely were tired and needed some rest. So, we did a quick assessment. Brought him into the unit.

[00:05:35]Very smooth, successful, safe transfer.

[00:05:38]A lot of coordination between our teams here. And I'd like to thank our nurses and techsainment unit as well as all the administrative support that we have for this and also our federal, state, and local partners. It's a definitely a wellcoordinated activity. Really proud to be a part of that team. Once they're in the unit, we've been doing symptom monitoring as well as temperature checks. Everyone here is asymptomatic and aphib. Do not have a temperature at this time. They're all resting now and we'll do further assessments later in the day once they've had a chance to sleep. That's where we're at with it now. But all asymptomatic, all very grateful to be here and we're just waiting for them to rest up and then we'll do further assessment. But to be clear, as far as Nebraska medicine, we have 15 patients in quarantine.

[00:06:36]>> Sure. So in in the I'm Angela Hlet. I'm the infectious disease physician and I'm the medical director of the Nebraska Bioontainment Unit. And so with our two facilities, our quarantine unit is designed for well individuals who need to be monitored. is not a patient care space. Um it is much more like a hotel than than a patient care space. We don't have the typical things that you'd see in a hospital room. It's a much more comfortable environment actually um with um with some things that to help keep people comfortable like exercise equipment and it's a larger space um you know TVs and things like that. The bioontainment unit is a patient care space and that's our our unit which is also located on this campus and that's where we provide um hospital-based care to people who need it and those patients could range from being you know relatively well and stable to critically ill requiring multiple procedures and multiple interventions. And so we do have one individual um who as you know were was taken to the bioontainment unit early early this morning and I'm happy to report that we assess that individual. Um they are doing well.

[00:07:43]Actually, they currently do not have any symptoms um and have a good appetite, although they're very uh they're very tired um understandably, but it's been a really long journey for these folks. And so, again, everything appears to be going very smoothly. I'm really proud of how our team responded and um and how how we all kind of came together to to execute this very complicated um you know, transfer of mult different individuals into these different units.

[00:08:11]>> So I might just underscore that it was it's a contingency planning reason. They want to make sure that other of the people that are sort of more residential side of that need potential medical care. There is space available. And so by moving other people who may have symptoms to another location and make sure there's that space to care for them.

[00:08:27]>> And those are the preliminary conversations planning that we had in terms of bringing in a number of individuals for quarantine is when those patients develop symptoms or test posit What is the contingency plan?

[00:08:46]person who would turn positive and turn inatient. So those conversations look at patients that may be identified early and travel to other centers across the country which is what happened in this case or you know have quarantine patients here and they have symptoms where those would be decanted to if they were stable or our bioontainment unit.

[00:09:09]All those contingency plans are in place and the example of the two passengers on Emery is an example.

[00:09:19]>> So two things with NBC News. How long do you anticipate people to stay here? And do they have a choice to leave or are they being told you have to stay here for a particular amount of time? And then in terms of the two passengers that are in Atlanta, same question. they anticipating to have to stay in this facility in Atlanta and also that the one in Atlanta has symptoms. Is the second person a partner? Just more clarity on why there is that separation between the patients in Atlanta and patients here.

[00:09:58]>> It's a great question about the the plan in terms of where things will happen. So right now the folks the passengers that are all in the sort of assessment phase uh they they're going to be here for at least a few days while we do assessments and then coordination from what happens next. They certainly have the option uh to stay here for the entire 42day period if that's just the saf safest and most effective option for them. There's going to be an individualized decision plan for them to determine if it makes more sense for them to complete their 42day monitoring period at home. And there's going to be a couple things that go into to that decision. First and foremost, do they remain symptom free? But then also, do they have all the structures and support to be able to be continue that period at home? Making sure that that they can uh be able to isolate in a separate part of of structure from anybody else. Make sure that they can contact their health department, get tested if necessary, if they develop symptoms, or if they need a higher level of medical care, that that's available to them. There's a range of structures that need to be in place uh before anyone would be transferred to their their home and that would be done in in close coordination with the health department in the states that will be receiving them.

[00:11:06]>> Ultimately though, will it be their decision?

[00:11:08]>> Yes, we want to do this in the most in the least restrictive way possible that is still safe that protects the health and safety of both the passengers and their communities.

[00:11:16]>> And then in terms of >> I just wanted to make a a brief comment.

[00:11:22]Um so I Ashley Newire, director of public health for Nebraska. Um, our partnership with the federal part with our federal partners has been tremendous as it has been with Nebraska Medicine and UNMC. Um, but I do want to uh just reiterate as uh the governor made a comment here earlier that um we are here also to make sure that there's a structure in place um to make sure that no one poses a public health threat. Um I do um you know as we are as the team is assessing and monitoring the individuals um we understand that there is we want they've been through an unimaginable experience already. Um and we we know there's that human element but we also um want to make sure that there is a structure in place. Um safety is number one across the board here. Um but I'm we are here to make sure that um there is no public health risk. So We've been reassured that in event that one of these uh individuals who is asymptomatic uh chooses to finish their period of observation elsewhere in their home or or elsewhere wherever that may be that they will be escorted under the very appropriate circumstances from end point to starting point.

[00:12:41]>> Just want to reiterate what what Ashley was saying. What you're seeing is a coordination from Washington to the state to the local levels with the governor with here at UNMC. This is what true public health care looks like. It's important for the administration. It's certainly important for Secretary Kennedy that we work together. There are no silos or walls between us. This is how public health should work. This is how it is working. And I think this is a perfect example of how we are coordinating, how we are speaking, how we are interfacing and doing things together for the good of the nation, certainly the good of the people of Nebraska and the good of the individuals who've been repatriated here.

[00:13:18]>> And then the patients in Atlanta, are they quarantining there as well? Is there a reason other than space as to why they're there? Any explanation as to the separation?

[00:13:30]>> Nothing more to add.

[00:13:32]They're there would be evaluation of symptoms there and then next steps would be similar to what happens here >> and they're quarantining as well.

[00:13:39]>> They're under under medical eval.

[00:13:45]>> Hi Kaylee Skyler with Fox News back here. If one of the patients who's currently located here in Nebraska were to test positive would they remain here and is it always quarantine or can it vary?

[00:14:00]are good. First I was just gonna I'll start off by saying that is why we've maintained space in the bioontainment unit uh in event that becomes necessary uh and uh how a lot would depend upon if that was the only individual or if there were multiple individuals that would get us to capacity of VCU if that occurred.

[00:14:20]We would work with our federal partners very closely uh and make sure that they were transported to another facility that had capability.

[00:14:29]add on the 42day monitoring period. The reason for that is that's sort of that's the maximum incubation period that's been seen for the Andes virus. So the incubation period is the time from when someone was exposed to when they develop symptoms. That's really at the very very long end. Much most people who who end up infected with this virus will develop symptoms much sooner than that. So that's a conservative time frame and that's the number we're using. I'll note this is a much longer incubation period than we see for a lot of other viruses but typical for viruses.

[00:14:58]Ian Lee with CBS News. You mentioned this incubation period uh being so long.

[00:15:04]We know that there are some Americans who already traveled back to the United States in their communities. How can you guarantee that they don't have the virus? And can you guarantee that when people leave here that they will not be carrying the virus?

[00:15:24]>> There's been contact made with all of those passgers who returned. The state health departments have been monitoring them on a daily basis, symptoms, temps.

[00:15:34]They have plans in place to make sure that they can isolate effectively in their home should they develop symptoms.

[00:15:39]If they are developing symptoms, they have ways to get tested safely and to make sure that they're not going to spread it to others. Again, what based on what we know about this virus and this, again, I want to emphasize this is not a brand new virus. This is a virus, even though it's new to many of us, it is a virus that has been known for decades now. And there's been outbreaks that have been dealt with in other countries and even here in the United States. This is not the first time we've had Andy's virus in the United States before. The data that we have now all suggests that that transmission that spread between people happens when people are symptomatic. And so I think that gives us when they have symptoms.

[00:16:14]So that gives us um one layer of added protection to know when the risk is going to and how we can best protect health and safety of the passenger and the American public. Can you give us more details about those other Americans? What kind of procedures are they undergoing? Are they getting quarantine as well? What kind what medical treatment are they receiving?

[00:16:34]>> So they're um they're not receiving medical treatment when they're not symptomatic and it would only be for evaluation or testing and symptoms progress and they were to require turn out to be positive or they needed care for something else. uh they again they're following the recommendations that we have in our overall guidance for this uh daily monitoring and uh and contingency plan. And when it comes to testing, there was one person who's asymptomatic and they tested positive.

[00:17:00]With this testing, can you test everyone and just see if they have the virus? And this person who has symptoms, have they been tested? Are they confirmed positive with the virus?

[00:17:11]>> So when it comes to testing, um I actually will defer to my colleagues at University of Nebraska. um to discuss their their plans on testing. The traditional um way of managing contirus testing has been that you really focus on testing people who are are uh symptomatic who are having symptoms. Uh that's are the current stance right now, but clearly we're going to keep reevaluating this as we learn more about this virus. I'll turn it over to my colleague here. I mean, we're in the process of evaluating all of the individuals and as was mentioned, we're giving them a little bit of a rest period now just given their ordeal and then we are going to go back and jointly with our federal partners um ask questions about their exposure and get a lot more information from that individual and then we will make individualized decisions on testing based on on those conversations. Um the individual in the bioontainment unit will be tested and that's only because that individual did kind of equivocal positive test previously, not in the United States. And so we will be testing that individual, but the individuals in the quarantine unit, that will be a conversation and a lot of conversations between us um and and those individuals that are in in the unit. Now, >> just to add to that, in partnership with the Nebraska Public Health Lab and the university, we've developed and validated the necessary testing so that can all be done here and it's a PCR test.

[00:18:35]If I can follow on what you were just saying about the individual in the bioontainment unit, has that person uh developed or shown any symptoms since they've been here? And do we know if there is any evidence that this could be transmitted by someone who is asymptomatic? I know that's not typically what happens, but is there evidence that that could happen?

[00:18:58]So, first question, are the individual uh is doing well and not any symptoms at this time, but again just arrived a few hours ago and so that will be an ongoing assessment and we will continue to ask those questions and ensure that that they remain asymptomatic. Um and second question was transmitting without symptoms. Um so there are a lot of unknowns here but as was mentioned earlier it it seems that with this with hirus um a specific and virus that this can be transmitted person But it typically does require very close contact and typically when those individuals are symptomatic. Now again recognizing that like I said although this is you know there are some unknowns and this is not a not a new virus. This is not the scenario that we encountered with co where we had a brand new brand new virus. So there is some information known about Andy's virus and and we feel fortunate to at least have that. Um but again these this will be an ongoing assessment. There are a lot of moving parts right now, but we'll do our best to take care of the individuals both in the quarantine unit and in the bioontainment unit and make sure they receive the best care.

[00:20:06]>> Just to make sure that we reiterate that even here the quarantine center, the rooms have negative pressure so that the virus cannot leave the room generally and then the ventilation is separate from the rest of the building. goes right out and then it's filtered through high efficiency particulate air filter.

[00:20:25]So the risk to the general public for those patients who are here even if they were to become symptomatic is very very minimal to to none.

[00:20:36]>> And just to add on to that also we're doing everything in our power to protect our healthare workers who are wearing appropriate protective equipment both in the bioontainment unit and in the national quarantine unit as well. And just for clarification, especially you mentioned there were a lot of people who I'm sure hearkarkens back to six years ago who were watching this. What is the definition of very close contact? What does that mean?

[00:20:59]>> I may let our public health partners answer that a little more definitively. They're asking the definition of very close contact and what you would consider. And the reason I bring that up is because there are some guidelines that just came out on this, >> right? So there's there's guidance you can look to specifically on our website about close contact and how that defines exposures. Typically, we're talking about exposure specifically to body bodily fluids and that could include things like saliva. So, if you're sharing eating utensils, kissing, touching, those type of things. It can also mean just being really really close to that that person for fairly long period of time. So, we're calling that six right now six feet for at least a cumulative number of 15 minutes. I want to be clear, there's nothing magical about six feet. It's not a force field, but it's a rough number that gives us a sense of how close somebody has been 15 minutes. And it's a bit arbitrary, but it again gives some sense of how close someone has been. I think that's actually a fairly conservative approach given how we know how the evidence we should have so far about how this virus has spread in the past.

[00:22:00]>> Um I have one clarification question then a few more questions. Um I believe just um someone said 18 US citizens were on the plane yesterday. I believe officials were seeing 17. I saw reporting that one person was a British national who was a US resident. Can we confirm those numbers?

[00:22:22]>> Yeah, that is true. The last person was a British dual national who decided to come back to the United States.

[00:22:28]>> Are they in Nebraska right now or in Atlanta?

[00:22:31]>> Uh they are in Nebraska.

[00:22:32]>> They're in Nebraska. Okay. And they are um one of the people who are in the quarantine unit, not um in the bio quarantine.

[00:22:40]>> Yes.

[00:22:40]>> By containment. Okay. Thank you. And then just in terms of how limited the quarantine is, can you talk about what protocols are? Like I'm assuming family members want to visit. Is there room for that? What does that look like?

[00:22:53]>> Well, currently each uh quarantined individual is in a private room, their own room. And there are no you no direct visitation. They do have access to technology. They can conduct phone conversations, video teleconferencing with family members and friends, but there's no intermingling of any of the quarantine individuals. There's no visits from anyone outside of the quarantine unit.

[00:23:20]They do see our nursing staff, our techn technicians, our physicians on a daily basis.

[00:23:25]of course following the precautions that we have in place to prevent transmission of the pathogen but there's no direct contact with >> um in terms of um the bio quarantine unit can you just quickly describe is it similar they're completely isolated um what are the differences between you know how many beds there are etc >> so the Nebraska bioontainment unit is a completely separate entity from the national quarantine unit and it is designed patient care unit. Um we have five rooms in the Nebraska bioontainment unit. One of those rooms now is currently being operated as an in-house laboratory which is actually an important aspect of our clinical care to make sure that we're able to um to perform our lab work in a timely fashion with a good turnaround time. Um the remainder of the patient room. So we have one individual who's occupying one of the rooms at this point. That's the only patient that we have in in the bioontainment unit. But it also similar the quarantine unit. It's its own separate entity. It is has its own air handling system. We don't share air with any of the rest of the facility. Um it has hepoiltration out on the roof. And so it's a a very different uh facility compared to your routine patient care room in a regular hospital. Everything is negative pressure throughout on a gradient. Um and there's just a lot of environmental uh you know engineering controls that we have in the unit that makes it just very distinct from a typical patient care unit. And how many people can it hold?

[00:24:55]>> So depending on the pathogen and our waste stream, the unit also has autoclaves, which is how we are able to to decontaminate waste. And so the the actual capacity of the unit is dependent on the pathogen and what we're dealing with and how much waste we're having to process out. So there's I know that's an interesting answer to your question, but but it actually it actually depends. For airborne diseases, we typically can take 10 patients with an airborne disease.

[00:25:23]And by that I mean, uh, you know, avian influenza, um, MS kov, something that line with this type of a disease and the fact that these individuals could become become ill fairly quickly as we've learned, you know, from what went on on the cruise ship. Um, you know, we typically are a two to three bed unit for that scenario.

[00:25:42]>> And so, just one more question. How often are people in the quarantine unit being tested and what are the symptoms that um you all are looking out for?

[00:25:54]>> As far as the testing, that's going to be decided in conjunction with the physician medical direction team and CDC colleagues. There's no frequency of testing for asymptomatic individuals to at this time. Um and then in terms of the symptom monitoring, I mean it's all the things that you would think of in terms of like includes fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches, generalized also respiratory symptoms, shortness of breath, dizziness, things, those sorts of things that we do a day basis. You know, a good way to think about it would be uh quarantine is sort of like very wellmanaged air handled hotel room and uh the bioontainment unit is like a very well-managed air handled intensive care.

[00:26:53]Jeff Cook, ABC News, right?

[00:26:57]The two patients that went to Atlanta, why did those two patients go to Atlanta specifically if you haven't already answered that? And um what facility exactly in Atlanta are they at?

[00:27:12]So the reason they went there is I've discussed previously that's contingency planning that means if one of there was symptoms involved they want to make sure that um if they turn out to actually have the hunter virus that it makes sure that the bioontainment unit here that provides medical care doesn't take up too much space in case it's needed by the other passengers currently here in the res more residential section and what facility exactly in Atlanta I don't know if you want to speak to me. I might be able to talk about the um >> so I'll kind of step back a little bit because this question keeps popping up as to how this system works, why people are in certain places.

[00:27:56]Asper designed this system along with uh UNMC, Emory and other hospitals uh which are NEX National Emerging Special Path Treatment and Education Centers. There's three of those across the US. And this is a system, a national special pathogen system. It's not designed as one hospital does everything. So the national quarantine unit is here at UNMC and it is designed to house a large group of patients or passengers from a plane or a ship like what we have now to monitor and assess them. um if they get symptomatic, become sick, they can be moved into the bio into the bio containment system and have a higher level of care. Right now, they're just being monitored and assessed. So, as a system, it works. We have 13 respects which are the regional emerging special pathogen treatment centers across the US so that those patients can be distributed load balanced across the system in one place like UNMC. He said, you know, we have 10 beds, right? But depending on the pathogen, that can change those beds. And right now, we have uh 16 people here. We have 15 in the quarantine center, one in the bioontainment unit, and then we have two down in uh Emory. So, that being said, why did they go there? Because we knew somebody was symptomatic and we have 16 people that are here. If someone were to sick or multiples get sick, we don't want to take the time and energy, right, and and lack of care transporting them to a different location. So, this is how the system is built and designed so that we can load distribute across the system. I think that hopefully should answer the questions. And what facility in Atlanta is it? What's the name of it?

[00:29:52]Uh, currently they're at Emory University.

[00:29:57]Back back over here, Ian Lee. Just a couple questions. Uh oh, I'm sorry.

[00:30:02]There's multiple people talking.

[00:30:04]>> Sorry. Go ahead.

[00:30:04]>> Is there is there a bioontainment unit there? And are those two people in a bioontainment unit or just quarantining?

[00:30:12]>> Currently at this time, it's my understanding.

[00:30:15]Matt, do you know they are currently in a quarantine? So, this is the only quarantine unit in the country right here. So they would be in a bio containment unit down there.

[00:30:28]It can still be used as a quarantine unit, right? Understand that.

[00:30:32]>> But it's a bioontainment similar to what you have here with the filters and the sanitation.

[00:30:37]>> Yes, that that is correct. And it is because uh that one passenger was symptomatic. So that is the reason they went to the bioontainment unit at Emory.

[00:30:45]Uh additionally to build on what Mr. was saying I mean this is a system uh that exists for exactly this kind of scenario and what you are seeing is the system working uh the system kind of will absorb uh passengers as needed and this is a very wellrehearsed uh system that exists and what you are seeing is that system work exactly as intended >> and is this a couple are they together or in two separate rooms >> uh yes so it is a couple um and They are uh I'm not sure of their exact uh situation. The plane just landed recently uh in Atlanta and the patient the passengers were taking to Emory. Um but because of their situation on the ship, they were traveling together to >> that is correct.

[00:31:35]>> And I do have another question. You mentioned the 42 days. If someone recently tested or possibly tested positive, we've seen someone else with symptoms. 42 days start now all over again or when do these 42 days start?

[00:31:53]>> So it would be a different story if the person is already known to have an infection if it's a true actual PCR positive. I actually like to defer a bit to our our clinical partners because I think this is something that is going to require somewhat of an individualized decision-m process to make sure we when we feel confident um that the person would be no longer infectious. I don't if there's anything you want to add to that or just leave it there.

[00:32:13]>> Well, the day one is typically last known exposure. And so these individuals were brought over um but they also were all in wearing PPE um on the plane on the way over. And so I would say and again we need to go in and assess these individuals. We we did give them a little bit of a rest. And so we are going to go and ask a lot more questions about their exposure. You know, how much contact did they have with these known positive individuals that were on this cruise ship? Um you know, and other things like that. And so once that is more established then I think we'll have a better idea of when day one is because day one was your last known contact with you know someone at risk or someone who was infected. And so once we get in there and actually can ask some more questions I think we'll have a much much more kind of clear idea of the 42day period.

[00:33:02]We've had several people over here. Uh we've had several people already die from this virus. When they are here in the United States getting the treatment, what does that change the survival rate?

[00:33:16]Do are they more likely to uh fight and beat this virus now that they're under your care unlike when they were on the ship?

[00:33:24]>> Well, as was mentioned, um you know, this the reason that we need these individuals to be close to care, whether that's here or for the individuals that are already out in their home jurisdictions to make sure that they have access to critical care is because the real management of this disease this is not a disease that has a whole lot of therapeutic options and things everything is experimental when it comes to that we don't have any FDA approved therapeutic options for honorus and so because of that we rely on aggressive supportive care and by that I can mean everything from IV fluids to oxygen if they need it to more aggressive things like mechanical intubation. um you know uh even emo which is extracaporeal membrane oxygenation that is something that that in when people are in dire straits and really can't oxygenate their blood um then sometimes that can be a life-saving measure for people and so these are though very aggressive measures um we do think that being able to provide those aggressive measures to people can change outcomes and that's the importance of being close to this type of care and to be able to provide that critical care for individuals should they need it >> and then finally Just for the general public, can you guarantee that no American will catch this virus from the passengers who returned uh to the United States?

[00:34:44]>> I just want to emphasize that our top priority across all levels of government here and partner partners is the health and safety of the of the passengers and their communities. And that's what we're working constantly to address through all the measures that we're putting in place. So there's you can guarantee no American will catch this virus from these returning passengers.

[00:35:05]>> There are no guarantees in life. We're putting as many measures in place as possible to ensure that people are safe and healthy and we keep the community safe and healthy as well.

[00:35:12]>> Just speaking on behalf of our staff and the capabilities that we have uh we will guarantee that every single precaution that can be taken to keep the communities and our staff healthy and of course to keep these passengers healthy will be taken.

[00:35:27]um wanted to talk a little bit about the passengers wly KTV here. Uh what are the age ranges of the passengers and how does that factor into the level of care?

[00:35:36]Are they part of a vulnerable population for this virus? And then also um as they then move home out of Nebraska hopefully uh does care change depending on like what part of the country they're from and what they might have been exposed to based off of where they're living.

[00:35:55]>> Just in general the the age range that we have in the quarantine unit ages ranges from late 20s to late 70s early 80s in general. Um and and definitely you know people coexisting disease would be more vulner vulnerable in terms of returning to their home home community. Um you know resources that are available there it's variable I think one of the main main benefits of being in this unit is exactly what Dr. stated it's a great resource for the country and that you are to critical care and bioontainment can treat high consequence infectious disease the best and the best teams best policies and procedures best training for these things and also the experience that we've had over the years to be able to provide this care in a safe manner that track I think is really one of the things that sets us apart So if I was exposed to this and I had the option to stay in quarantine unit to that care, I would definitely take that because you're putting yourself in a position if you were to to turn positive. You should be in a position to take advantage of all those things the best chance of survival. And with the people on the older end of the spectrum that you talked about, um, are they considered a vulnerable population or at more risk of having severe complications if they contract the haunt virus?

[00:37:30]>> Yeah, generally it's thought that people who are older or have those medical coorbidities could potentially be at higher risk of more severe disease or potentially more adverse outcomes, you know, should they should they get infected?

[00:37:44]>> So, I'm getting the message that we uh need to I want to thank all of you for being here today. Rest assured that we will periodically provide some updates. I'm sure all of you from the media know how to contact our communications people at any time. And rest assured, as you've heard said earlier, transparency is the name of the game here. We will be totally transparent and as we continue to learn more and more about these individuals and what their plans will be. So, thank you for being here. Thank you fols for This is great.

[00:50:06]I don't see Fore speech.