UNMC/Nebraska Medicine provides update on Americans exposed to hantavirus

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]possible. We know it's been very difficult for you in an arduous journey, one that will keep you away from your friends and your loved ones a little while longer. But you can be assured the medical staff at UNMC are highly trained and compassionate, extraordinarily compassionate caregivers. And whatever they are, and we can do make your stay as comfortable as possible, we will do. Um, we have walked hand in hand with our federal partners from uh the White House to Secretary Kennedy to the CDC and all of their great teams. I am satisfied and Nebraskans can be that the rest of American can be satisfied that there is a strong plan in place and to ensure the folks are secure for their initial assessment and we are working diligently to ensure no one security in an unsecured way at an inappropriate time. No one who poses a risk to public health is walking out the front door of the streets of Omaha or beyond. Again, I simply want to say uh thank you again, Dr. Gold, to you and your team and all of our federal partners and state and local agencies that have all had a hand in facilitating and make an impact on getting Americans back home. Thank you.

[00:01:31]Uh thank you, Governor. And uh it is now a pleasure to provide uh some more information specifically on the operations on the condition of the passengers. I'd like to introduce Admiral Brian Christine. Admiral Christine is the assistant secretary for health of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Admiral.

[00:01:53]Well, good morning. Thank you all for being here. Thank you especially to our partners at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.

[00:02:02]Thank you to Nebraska Medicine. And thank you to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Thank you all for your leadership and your readiness in this response. At the Department of Health and Human Services, our approach is grounded in science.

[00:02:16]It's grounded in coordination and it's grounded in transparency. This is a whole of government effort across federal, state, and local partners who are all working together to ensure the safety of the American people. And let me be clear, let me be crystal clear, the risk of hunter virus to the general public remains very, very low. The Andes variant of this virus does not spread easily and it requires prolonged close contact with someone who is already symptomatic. Even so, we have taken this situation very seriously from the very start. We've taken it seriously across HHS and particularly through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And I'm proud to see many of my US public health service officers have been actively engaged in the response. The CDC rapidly activated its emergency operations center. It deployed medical teams to assess passengers and coordinated closely with international partners. They have notified state health departments. They have initiated monitoring of potentially exposed individuals. And they have issued clinical guidance through the health alert network. They have also brought together national partners through coordination calls. They've developed tools and resources to support public health decision making and they and they have ensured that both clinicians and the public have clear timely information. Transparency has been and is the order of the day. And now with the safe arrival of these US citizens here in Nebraska, CDC teams are working side by side with Asper, with UNMC, and with state and local officials to conduct assessments and provide ongoing monitoring care. This this is what strong public health system looks like.

[00:04:05]experienced professional seamless coordination and a shared commitment to protecting the American people. We will continue to follow the science. We will stay vigilant. We will keep the public informed every step of the way. As I said, transparency is the order of the day. Thank you. Thank you for being here. God bless you. God bless the state of Nebraska and God bless our republic.

[00:04:27]Thank you.

[00:04:34]Thank you so much uh for those words. Uh and now uh it is my uh pleasure to uh introduce Mr. John Knox who's the principal deputy assistant secretary administration for strategic preparedness and response in the US department of health and human services and he will give us an update on planning and as we move forward.

[00:04:58]>> Thank you Dr. And thank you everyone for being here today. As mentioned, I'm John Knox. I'm the principal deputy assistant secretary for the administration for strategic preparedness and response. I'll start by noting that what you're all seeing here today uh is a true partnership uh and a demonstration between public and private partnerships. As all of you are aware, last night with the coordination of multiple federal agencies and in partnership with state officials, HHS supported the Department of State in a safe rep repatriation of 18 US US citizens from the MV Hondas.

[00:05:40]This is a coordinated whole of government effort to safely return Americans home while protecting public health.

[00:05:47]Passgers were transported via Department of State plane from the Canary Islands to Nebraska with appropriate medical capabilities on board. HHS has worked with the State Department from the start for a seamless transfer back into the United States. Upon arrival, they were transferred here to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. UNMC was selected as the US entry point due to its extensive expertise in handling special pathogens and it's the only national quarantine unit in the country.

[00:06:21]It is one of Asper's 13 regional emerging special pathogen centers uh also known as respecs that are within the n national special pathogens system.

[00:06:34]Asper has established this system over the years to prepare for high consequence infectious disease outbreaks uh with trained personnel ready to safely manage situations like this.

[00:06:46]Asper's mission is to protect the health security of Americans and this response reflects the strength of national of the national preparedness system. As mentioned by others here this morning, over the next several days, passengers will undergo an initial health assessment and receive guidance on next steps from the CDC experts and other partners. This event reflects our ability to coordinate across federal, state, and local partners when the health of any American is on the line.

[00:07:20]So, at this point, I'm going to turn it back to Dr. Gold to continue. Thank you.

[00:07:24]Thank you.

[00:07:28]Well, thank you, Secretary Knox. Uh, we have several people here as of course you can see. Uh, just to introduce them quickly, we have Brendan Jackson. Dr. Jackson uh is from the Centers of Disease Control and acting director of the division of high consequence pathogens and pathology. Captain Michael Gardner also from Asperers, the regional administrator, region 7 of the mission field operations.

[00:07:54]We have Matthew Ferrer who's a DVM and is a HHS counselor. We have Dr. Michael Wadman here from the University of Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine and is a director of the National Quarantine Unit.

[00:08:09]We have Dr. Angela Hen uh who's the medical director of the Nebraska Bioont Containment Unit. We have Dr. Deli Davies uh who's the interim chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Michael Ash, who's the chief executive officer of Nebraska Medicine.

[00:08:25]Uh, and by the way, uh, thank you for hosting us. And we have Dr. Ashley Newire, the director of public health, uh, for the state of Nebraska.

[00:08:35]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.

[00:08:54]Uh 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's 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.

[00:09:31]There are microphones uh that we will pass around. If you do have a question, 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. Or we can just have volunteers. So, >> hi.

[00:10:01]Just wanted to talk a little bit about that there was a person who was experiencing symptoms but they had not been tested positive for virus. Um can you talk a little bit more about that?

[00:10:15]Is that person or is that person?

[00:10:24]>> That's right. So part of the decision was to make sure other passgers pat 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.

[00:11:01]>> 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 We're being very very liberal in how we're framing symptoms and monitoring for symptoms here.

[00:11:19]working a little bit. How many of you have I can just address that briefly.

[00:11:50]18 of our 16 passgers here.

[00:12:16]My colleague aggressively as well. I'll passenger this test was not collected in the United States.

[00:12:30]On the ship there were two specimens.

[00:12:33]One was positive and the other one was negative.

[00:12:37]With these PCR tests, it's not necessar.

[00:12:45]So for that reason, we want to make sure there's further testing.

[00:13:06]16 people are here.

[00:13:12]Can you repeat again what your question was?

[00:13:25]contact transmission.

[00:13:27]>> Got it. It may be helpful for you all to explain the difference between the sections within University of Nebraska Medical Center as well.

[00:13:34]>> Sure. I'm Mike. I'm an emergency physician and the medical director unit.

[00:13:41]We welcomed 15 passengers to the quarantine units early this morning. Um, one passenger did go to the bot unit public address that patient. The 15 that were welcomed here were in good shape. They were in good spirits. They definitely uh were tired and needed some rest. So, we did a quick assessment, brought them into the unit.

[00:14:06]Very smooth, successful, safe transfer.

[00:14:08]A lot of coordination between our teams here. I'd like to thank our nurses and techs and bioontainment unit as well as our administrative support that we have for this and also our federal, state, and local partners. It's a definitely a wellcoordinated activity and really proud to be a part of that team. Once they're in the unit, we've been doing symptom monitoring as well as uh temperature checks. Everyone here is asymptomatic and a fee. We do not have a temperature at this time. They're all testing now.

[00:14:40]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 the further assessment. But to be clear, as far as Nebraska medicine, we have 15 patients in quarantine. We've got one patient.

[00:15:03]Just explain the difference if that's helpful.

[00:15:06]>> Sure. So in in the I'm Angela Hlet on.

[00:15:09]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. Um it is not a patient care space. It is much more like a hotel than than a patient care space. We don't have the typical things that you would see in a hospital room. Um it's a much more comfortable environment actually um with um with some things that to help keep people comfortable like exercise equip and a larger space um you know TVs and things like that. The bioating 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 uh 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 who as you know taken to the bioontainment unit early early this morning and um I'm happy to report that we assessed that individual.

[00:16:12]Um they are doing well 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 um to execute this very complicated um you know transfer of multiple different individuals into these different units.

[00:16:41]>> 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 the 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 there's that space to care for them.

[00:16:57]>> And then 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 positive. What is the contingency plan?

[00:17:10]because capacity would not be able to accommodate 16 you know persons who would turn positive and turn. So those conversations look at patients that may be identified early and travel to other private table centers across the country which is what happened in this case or you know if we're have quarantine patients here and they have symptoms positive testing where those would be decanted to if they were stable or containment unit all those contain to have the same symptoms more questions happen. So right now the passengers that are all in the 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 to stay here for the entire 42day period if that's the safest and most effective option for them.

[00:18:52]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.

[00:19:00]There's going to be a couple to that decision. First and foremost, do they remain symptom free? But also, do they have all the structures and support to be able to continue that period at home? Making sure that that they can be able to isolate a separate part of structure from anybody else. Make sure that they can contact their health department, get tested if necessary, 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 before anyone would be transferred to their their home and that would be done in closeord.

[00:19:39]>> Yes, we want to do this in the most in the least restrictive way possible that is still safe but protects the health and safety of both passengers and their >> com for Nebraska. Our partnership with our federal partners has been tremendous as it has.

[00:20:04]Um, but I do want to just reiterate as the governor made a comment here that we are here also to make sure there's a structure in place to make sure that um I do um you know as we are asing indiv Um we understand that there is they've been through experience already.

[00:20:31]We know there's that human element. We also um want to make sure that there is a structure in place here.

[00:20:47]We've been reassured that in the event that one of these individuals who is asymptomatic uh chooses to finish their period of observation elsewhere in their home or elsewhere wherever that may be that they will be escorted under the very appropriate circumstances from end point to starting point.

[00:21:11]>> 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 have been repatriated here. the patimar to what happens here >> under medical evaluation right I was just I'll start off by saying that is why we've maintained space in the bio containment unit uh in event that becomes necessary. Uh how did a lot if that was the only individual or if there were multiple individuals that would get us to capacity at the BCU.

[00:22:49]that occurred, we would work with our federal partners very closely uh and make sure that they were transported to another facility that had the capability 42 reasons when they develop symptoms that's really very long infected with this virus symptoms much sooner than That's already that when people leave here that they will not be carrying the virus.

[00:23:51]>> Let me take that question.

[00:23:54]>> There has been contact made with all of those passengers who who returned. The state health departments have been monitoring them on a daily basis with symptoms and temp temperature checks. Uh they have plans in place to make sure that they can isolate effectively in their home should they develop symptoms.

[00:24:09]If they are developing symptoms, they have ways to get tested safely uh 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 want to emphasize this is not a brand new virus. This is a virus even though it's new to many of us it 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 Andes 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 when they have symptoms. And so that gives us um one layer of added protection to know when the risk is going to be greatest 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 in quarantine as well? What kind what medical treatment are they receiving?

[00:25:05]>> 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 more if symptoms progressed then they were to require turned out to be positive or neither needed care for something else.

[00:25:16]Uh they again they're following the recommendations that we have in our overall guidance for this uh daily monitoring um and uh and contingency plan. And when it comes to testing there was one person who's asymptomatic and they tested positive. 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?

[00:25:41]So when it comes to testing um I actually will defer to my colleagues at University of Nebraska um to to discuss their their plans on testing. The traditional um way of managing honor 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. Um, 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 uh will be tested and that's only because that individual did have this kind of equivocal positive test previously not in the United States and so we will be testing that individual um but the individuals in the quarantine unit that will be a conversation and a lot of conversations between us um and and that those individuals that are in in the unit now.

[00:26:51]>> Yeah. And 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 done quickly and it's a PCR test.

[00:27:05]>> 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?

[00:27:28]So, first question, uh are the individual uh is doing well and not having any symptoms at this time, but again, just arrived a few hours ago and so that will be an ongoing assessment.

[00:27:39]Um and we will continue to ask those questions and and make sure that uh that they remain asymptomatic. Um and second question was transmitting without symptoms. Um so there are a lot of unknowns here. Um but as was mentioned earlier it it seems that with this with haunt virus um the specific Andes virus that this can be transmitted person to 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 Amy'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.

[00:28:36]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. It goes right out and then it's filtered through high efficiency particulate air filter.

[00:28:56]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.

[00:29:06]>> Yeah. And just to add on to that also we're doing everything in our power to protect our healthcare workers um who are wearing appropriate protective equipment both in the bioontainment unit and the national quarantine unit as well.

[00:29:18]>> And just for clarification especially you mentioned there were a lot of people who I'm sure hearkens back to you six years ago who were watching this. What is the definition of very close contact?

[00:29:28]What does that mean?

[00:29:29]>> I 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.

[00:29:43]>> Right. So there's there's guidance you can look to specifically on our website about about close contact and how that defines exposures. Typically, we're talking about exposure specifically to body bodily fluids and that that could include things like salidos. So, if you're sharing eating utensils, um kissing, touching, those type of things.

[00:29:58]It can also mean just being really really close to that that person for a fairly long period of time. So, we're 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. Again, it's a bit arbitrary, but it again gives some sense of how close someone has been. I think that's actually a fairly uh conservative approach given how we know uh how how the evidence we have so far about how this virus has spread uh in the past.

[00:30:30]>> Um I have one clarification question then a few more questions. Um I believe just um someone said 18 US citizens who were on the plane yesterday. I believe officials were seeing 17. on reporting that one person was a British national who was he was a US resident. Can you confirm those numbers?

[00:30:52]>> Yeah, that is true. The the last person was a British dual national um who decided to come back to the United States.

[00:30:59]>> Are they in Nebraska right now or in Atlanta?

[00:31:01]>> Uh they are in Nebraska.

[00:31:03]>> 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.

[00:31:10]>> Yes.

[00:31:10]>> Bio. Okay. Thank you. And then just in terms of how limited the quarantine is, can you talk about what protocols are?

[00:31:18]Like I'm assuming family members want to visit. Is there room for that? What does that look like?

[00:31:24]>> Well, currently uh each uh quarantined individual is in a private room, their own room. And there are no, you know, no direct visitation. They do have access to uh technology. they can, you know, conduct phone conversations, um, no video teleconferencing with family members and friends, but there's no intermingling of any of the quarantine individuals. There's no visits uh from anyone outside of the quarantine unit.

[00:31:50]Um, they do see our nursing staff, our techn technicians, our physicians on a daily basis. Um, of course, some full PP following the precautions that we have in place to prevent transmission of the pathogen. Uh, but there's no direct contact with anyone.

[00:32:06]Um in terms of um the bio quarantine unit, can you just quickly describe is it similar? They're completely isolated.

[00:32:13]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 as a 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 a good turnaround time. Um the remainder of the patient room, so we have one individual who's occupying one of the rooms. Um at this point, that's the only patient that we have in in the bioontainment unit. Um but it also similar to the quarantine unit, it's its own separate entity. It is has its own air handling system. and we don't share air with any of the rest of the facility. Um, it has hepoiltration um 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, and engineering controls that we have in the unit that makes it just very distinct from a typical patient care unit.

[00:33:24]>> And how many people can it hold? So depending on the pathogen and our waste stream, the unit also has autoclaves in them which is how we are able to um to decontaminate waste. Uh and so the the actual capacity of the unit is dependent on the pathogen um 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 it actually it actually depends. For airborne diseases, we typically can take 10 patients with an airborne disease. And by that I mean, uh, you know, aven influenza, um, MS Kovv, something that line. Um, with this type of the disease and the fact that these individuals could become become ill fairly quickly as we've learned, you know, from what went on the cruise ship, um, you know, we typically are a two to three bed unit for that scenario. And so, just one more question. How often are people in quarantine being tested and what are the symptoms that um you all are looking out for?

[00:34:24]>> As far as the testing that's going to be decided in conjunction with the physician medical direction team and CDC colleagues. Um there's no frequency of testing for asymptomatic individuals that's agreed 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 kind of an influenza like illness. It includes a fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, signs, generalized.

[00:34:52]Um also uh for respiratory symptoms, cough, shortness of breath, um dizziness, things would indicate low blood pressure. Um those sorts of things are on the symptom monitoring that we do on a twice a day basis.

[00:35:07]You know, a good way to think about it would be uh quarantine is sort of like a very well-managed air handled hotel room and uh the bio containment unit is like a very well-managed air handling intensive care unit.

[00:35:23]Uh Jeff Cook ABC who's um right at the front um 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?

[00:35:42]So the reason they went there is I discussed previously that's contingency planning. That means if we're under there was symptoms involved, they want to make sure that um if they turn out to actually have the virus that it uh makes sure that the bio containment unit here that provides medical care uh doesn't take up too much space in case it's needed by the other passengers who are currently here in the um resident or residential section and what facility exactly in LA it's the I don't know if you want to it might be able to talk about the um oh Dr. Mr. 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.

[00:36:26]Asper designed this system along with uh UNMC um Emory and other hospitals um which are NEX National Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment and Education Centers. There's uh 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 uh passengers from a plane or a ship like what we have now to monitor and assess them. um if they get symptomatic and 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 emergency special pathogen treatment centers across the US so that those patients can be distributed load balanced across the system and one place like UNMC. She said, you know, we have 10 beds, right?

[00:37:34]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 get 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, designed so that we can distribute across this system. I I think that hopefully should answer the questions. And what facility in Atlanta is it? What was the name of it? Uh, currently they're at Emory University.

[00:38:27]>> Back over here, Ian Lee. Just a couple questions.

[00:38:32]>> Or I'm sorry, there's multiple people talking.

[00:38:34]>> Sorry. Go ahead.

[00:38:35]>> Is there is there a bioontainment unit there? And are those two people in a bioontainment unit or just quarantining?

[00:38:42]>> Currently at this time, it's my understanding, 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. Okay. It it can still be used as a quarantine unit.

[00:39:01]>> Right. Understand that.

[00:39:02]>> But it's a bioontainment similar to what you have here with filters and and the desitation and all.

[00:39:08]>> 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.

[00:39:15]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 how does that look like >> uh yes so it is a couple um and They are uh I'm I'm not sure of their exact uh situation. The plane just landed recently uh in Atlanta and the patient uh the passengers were taken to Emmery.

[00:39:58]Um but because of their situation on the ship uh they were traveling together to just one.

[00:40:04]>> That is correct.

[00:40:19]or when do these 42 days start?

[00:40:23]>> So, it would be a different story if the person is already known to have an infection, if it's a true actual um 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 know if there's anything you want to add to that or just leave it there.

[00:40:43]>> Well, the day one is typically the last known exposure. And so these individuals were brought over um but they also were all then wearing PPE um on the plane on the way over. And so I would say and again we 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. Um 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 um or someone who was infected. And so um 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.

[00:41:32]We've had several people over here. Uh we've had several people already die from this virus. When they're here in the United States getting the treatment, what does that change the survival rate?

[00:41:46]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? Well, as was mentioned, um, you know, this the reason that we need these individuals to be close to care, whether that's here in the national quarantine unit 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.

[00:42:14]Everything is experimental when it comes to that. We don't have any FDA approved therapeutic options um for Andy's honors. And so because of that we rely on aggressive supportive care. Um 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 emma which is extra coraporeal 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.

[00:43:02]>> 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?

[00:43:14]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.

[00:43:35]>> 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. 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.

[00:43:57]>> Um want to talk a little bit about the passengers regularly KTV here. Uh what are the age ranges of the passengers and how does that factor into the level of care? 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 >> just in in general the the age range that we have the quarantine unit ages ranges from late 20s to um late 70s early 80s in general. Um and and definitely you know people who have uh coexisting disease coorbidities would be more more vulner vulnerable. Um in terms of returning to their uh you know home home community um you know resources that are available there I mean it's it's variable. I think one of the main main benefits of being in this unit is exactly Dr. stated is that it's a great resource for the country and that you are approximate to critical care and a bioontainment unit that can can treat high consequence infectious disease and become the best and the best teams uh the best policies and procedures the 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 that track record I think is is really really one of the things that sets us apart. So, if if I was exposed to to this and I had the option to stay in a quarantine unit proximal to that care, I would definitely take that because you're putting yourself in a position if you were to to uh turn positive, would that you'd be in a position to take advantage of all those things that's going to give you 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 virus?

[00:46:01]>> Yeah, generally it's thought that uh people who are older or have those medical coorbidities could potentially be at higher risk of more severe disease or potentially more adverse outcomes um you know should they should they get infected. So, I'm getting the message that we uh need to adjourn. I want to thank all of you for being here today.

[00:46:21]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.

[00:46:30]And rest assured, uh, as you've heard said earlier, transparency is the name of the game here. Uh, we will be totally transparent and we as we continue to learn more and more about these individuals and what their plans will be. So, thank you for being here and thank you folks for uh giving us this morning.

[00:47:00]Um, go downstairs.