LIVE- UNMC updates National Quarantine Unit

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:02]A good Friday morning to you. I'm Dave Zawilinski coming to you live from the alert center. We're about to take you live to Nebraska Medicine for a news conference on an update about the 18 passengers at the national quarantine unit. It's now been 11 days since they all came here to Omaha to be put in quarantine and isolation because of potential exposure to the hantavirus outbreak.

[00:00:24]There have been a lot of questions from people across the country and here locally about the current status of these patients and we now want to go live to a news conference where we do expect to hear from Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen and University of Nebraska President Dr. Jeffrey Gold. We'll take you out there now live.

[00:00:39]>> is as enjoyable experience as can be.

[00:00:42]Joining us today, standing to my right of course is Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen and seated at our chairs here is Captain Michael Garner from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response Regional Administrator for Region 7 and the mission field operations lead for us in this project.

[00:01:03]Mr. Peter Castle Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response is their press officer.

[00:01:10]Dr. Michael Wadman, the medical director of the National Quarantine Unit Ashley Newmyer, the director of the Nebraska Division of Public Health and also in the audience today we welcome Dr. Dele Davies, the interim Chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Dr. Michael Ash, the Chief Executive Officer of Nebraska Medicine.

[00:01:32]We thank all of you for attending. We have several opening remarks and then we're going to open it to you for questions and first it is my pleasure to turn the microphone over to Governor Pillen, Jim.

[00:01:43]Thank you, Dr. Gold.

[00:01:44]Well, good morning everybody. Thanks for being here and I think it's really really important that we have the opportunity to tell Nebraskans what's going on and I think that uh number one, we never say thank you enough so I want to make sure that we have the opportunity to thank the incredible Dr. Wadman and his team and uh everybody at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. I think it's important that we all have the gift of appreciation.

[00:02:11]The peop- this facility's incredible, but the people are who make it and they're doing extraordinary extraordinary work uh to take care of our guests and uh could not be more proud and humble to see what's happening. And also everybody uh within the uh Health and Human Services and our team in the coordination and daily alignment calls taking place uh uh with our federal partners, with everybody here at UNMC and uh from uh the White House uh team and from Secretary Kennedy's team. So, there's daily alignment calls, extraordinary work and communication taking place.

[00:02:54]Uh this is day 12.

[00:02:56]Day 12. Uh and I think that when I look in everybody's eyes, it might look feel like it's day 30 because everybody's working extraordinarily hard.

[00:03:05]Have a uh have incredible empathy for our guests because uh who who's who does not want to be home?

[00:03:14]Uh who does not want to be home and be with your families?

[00:03:18]Uh but uh our team is doing everything uh everything to make them comfortable, everything to uh have some fun things that come from Nebraska.

[00:03:29]Uh but uh working really really hard and continuing to help uh them understand what's going on and help them understand uh what takes place with the virus uh and uh making sure that uh uh they are comfortable. Um I think that um the uh other thing that sometimes we lose track of that here in Nebraska here at the Global Davis Center. This is the only quarantine facility in the United States of America. Um, I think the other thing that's important for Nebraskans to know that we added two more guests since day 12 who were the two two guests came from Emory. So, we're now at 18. We have a total of 20 rooms. 18 of the 20 rooms are or full and I think that if you if anybody talks a little bit about uh um, the Ebola virus, uh there's a reason why uh when uh when in this facility uh whenever the day comes that the guests go home, uh this facility will be wide open for Ebola. Obviously, some of the folks that are in Germany, uh we don't have the capacity to handle more than what we're doing. Um, I think the other thing that is important is that uh all of us, right? All of us are creatures of habit and comfort and I think that uh uh I I just can't applaud everybody for doing everything you can to make our guests comfortable and enjoy uh I know from my seat I want to get to the guests some really good pieces of pork tenderloin as long as Dr. Wadman I can get the chefs to cook it correctly. I think that that would be good. Um, I think that the other that I wanted to share is is is that uh we've had uh uh several different calls with other the states and other governors and um you know, there's governors that are very grateful that Nebraskans run to solve their problems and that they're that their residents are here in the safest place.

[00:05:32]So, I'm really really uh proud of that. Um and I think that uh it's really important for everybody to know that in our daily alignment calls everybody from our office to the University of Nebraska Medical Center team to our federal partners here, we're 100% in lockstep with making sure that people stay here until the appropriate time. So, those are things I think that are really really important that that we talk about today and that we we pass on and again, I just simply want to say that it's >> [clears throat] >> really really important that we take care of our guests, that we continue to educate and continue to update.

[00:06:18]And I think that lastly, I think that when the guest realized that a person that they flew with and were with that lives north of north of us in Canada showed clinical signs since they've been here, I think that helps all of our passengers understand gee whiz this virus is interesting. This virus isn't quite what I understood initially and that it can harbor and take time to to incubate and show signs.

[00:06:49]So, again, I'm just incredibly grateful for everybody's work. I'm incredibly grateful for our our medical team and our health director and all the work that everybody's doing.

[00:07:03]It's uh it's the Nebraska way. Everybody rolls their sleeves, they run to the point to make a difference, not away and nobody shirks from it. So, could not be more proud of everybody and all their work.

[00:07:16]Dr. Gold.

[00:07:20]Well, thank you, Governor. And now it's my pleasure to introduce Dr. Michael Wadman, who's the medical director of the National Quarantine Unit.

[00:07:29]Michael, do you want to say a few words about the health and wellness of our guests?

[00:07:38]Thank you, Dr. Gold. Um, happy to be here this morning to report that everyone in the unit is doing well.

[00:07:45]And there's been no concerning symptoms reported by anyone.

[00:07:49]Our team, our nurses and techs continue to do twice daily symptom checks, twice daily fever checks, temperature checks, and that is going very smoothly. Our physicians on the team are reviewing that data daily, and meeting with with our guests either individually or in a town hall format to discuss any issues that come up during the day, and also just to give them an expectation of what each day will bring so that they can have some predictability to to their stay with us.

[00:08:19]Um, everyone's been very cooperative with the process, and we really appreciate that very much.

[00:08:24]Um, you know, in terms of the quarantine unit operations, we do have a really great team. I'm very proud of them. They are physicians, nurses, and techs. Uh, they're all volunteers. They come from various parts of the hospital, ranging from the emergency department to critical care areas to infectious disease clinics.

[00:08:43]All of them are very experienced. All of them undergo uh, quarterly training uh, with the with our team. We uh, train in various levels of PPE. We train with various clinical scenarios. So, when we activate, there's little that we are that's unexpected.

[00:09:00]It can range from just daily delivering meals or waste management to a person needing transfer from the NQU to the hospital and to the biocontainment unit.

[00:09:09]So, we have a wide range of drills that prepare us for any of those any of those eventualities.

[00:09:16]We've got a lot of very experienced folks on our team. Some with over a decade of experience on our team. Some are veterans of Ebola and COVID activations for the NQU.

[00:09:27]There are some things that we have not done actively, and one came up just over the weekend. Um, we do train for all of these all these different situations, but we had never had a an actual tornado warning when we had folks in the NQU.

[00:09:43]So, we had that opportunity over the weekend, and I can say that we approached it it seemed like it was almost routine because of the training that our our personnel had.

[00:09:52]Our guests are not from Nebraska. You know, they are not really from not many from the Midwest, so that was a unique experience for for most of them.

[00:10:01]It was all done very orderly in an orderly fashion.

[00:10:04]We evacuated the the rooms that were outward facing and went to a inner area of the unit with appropriate PPE, appropriate spacing, and using the protocols that we had drilled on.

[00:10:15]It all went very well, and then I think some of the guests felt stretching their legs a little change in scenery was was a positive thing.

[00:10:23]And one even jokingly asked if we could have weekly tornadoes so that they could have the same experience.

[00:10:29]I told her that this is Nebraska, so you know you never know.

[00:10:33]But it was I think a very very uh humbling to see our team perform in that way.

[00:10:39]We do have preparation. We do have, you know, PPE, all the things that we we do to prepare for for these activations, but I really want to focus on on the people who are here. And no one on our team knows what it's like to be in quarantine.

[00:10:54]So, we really want that feedback from these individuals to tell us what they need to make this stay as as comfortable as we can. We know, you know, that it's not not perfect for them to be here. So, we want to do what we can to help them to adjust to this to the new environment that we have in the unit.

[00:11:09]So, we do speak with them often about these things.

[00:11:12]We've encouraged them to be physically active and mentally active to continue those activities at close to the level that they experience when they're not here.

[00:11:22]So, we have been seeing use of the treadmills and and the stationary bicycles, the ellipticals in the rooms.

[00:11:29]We've had one session with some training on Tai Chi, so you can have some exercise within that small space. Some of the the folks who participated in that. We have some other planned educational sessions for physical activity that they can engage in planned.

[00:11:44]They have a lot of questions about Nebraska.

[00:11:47]They're very interested in the state.

[00:11:49]We've had one presentation on fossilized mammoths presented yesterday that was really very much enjoyed by all.

[00:11:56]I think we have some planned sessions on Nebraska grassland birds and and the sandhill crane migrations which you know this is a group that's very active and very interested in nature for the most part. And so there's a lot of interest in that and some that have said they'll return at some point and experience the sandhill crane migration in person.

[00:12:15]Um food's a good thing and so good food is important and some variety so we've had a good response from the community.

[00:12:22]We've had Patty McGowen's bomb taco food trucks and that was a big hit for for everyone in the unit including the staff.

[00:12:30]And we do have plans going forward for some Omaha steaks sometime next week I hear which everyone's looking forward to.

[00:12:36]And perhaps even Runza coming up which I had information that the governor's office might be have a hand in that so hopefully that that's going to happen.

[00:12:45]I've told them all that the best Runza is the one you catch in Memorial Stadium on a on a you know Saturday in November but that one from the governor would probably be a close second.

[00:12:54]One last time I'd just like to thank all of our team. They're really what makes this work.

[00:13:00]Thank our federal partners, our state and local partners and especially the folks within the unit who are here with us for helping us get through the adjustment. We're now getting into a routine and I think everything's going very smoothly.

[00:13:12]Thank you.

[00:13:16]Thank you Dr. Wadman.

[00:13:18]I too just want to take a minute to thank our very special staff. There is no question that they are the most competent and capable and well trained and there is no question that the environment that we are hosting these guests in is truly the safest and most experienced. There's also no question that were they to heaven forbid become ill, the capabilities that we have in our biocontainment facilities, the resources, the staffing is absolutely amazing.

[00:13:48]But with that confidence and competence also comes a healthy degree of courage.

[00:13:52]You think about what it takes for our staff to be willing to interact with individuals who potentially are infected at some time with a virus whether it was Ebola in the early days of COVID or today for which there is no identified cure and yet knowing that they're reaching out to help others to perform what we call serious medicine and extraordinary care.

[00:14:22]This is a unique circumstance. We understand the stress of all of these individuals but there's no question that in their own personal interest and in the interest of the public health of our nation and our community that this is the safest and best place that will be.

[00:14:38]So before we take your questions, I know the governor has a few closing remarks and then we'd be very anxious to take your questions. Governor. Thank you.

[00:14:46]Well, I can stand here with 100% degree of certainty that our guests are getting it like all of us in Nebraska. It's the people and they're learning every day falling in love with Nebraska even though it's not quite the circumstance they would hope because of the people and the extraordinary care and the grace that's being given every day. So I just simply want to say a gigantic thank you to Dr. Wadman and everybody here at UNMC because it's the people that make the incredible difference.

[00:15:21]Number one, number two, I want to make sure that we can assure Nebraskans that whenever everybody goes home, it will be done in a secure way and nobody in Nebraska has to worry about the virus going any any place else because it will be done as you just heard Dr. Wadman talk about the the experience with a tornado warning. And most likely there might be another one. So they they might get an have that experience in another day or two. Uh and then lastly, this this process is as Dr. Gold touched on briefly, but it is a total partnership all the way from the all of our federal partners, from our state partners, the local partners, and everybody here at the medical center. And everybody is working on alignment and communication on a daily basis. And I could not be more proud. Uh could not be more proud to be the governor of Nebraska. Could not be more proud of our fellow Nebraskans. So gigantic thank you to all.

[00:16:26]Uh thank you very much, Governor. And ladies and gentlemen, we're more than pleased to take your questions to address our subject content experts here.

[00:16:36]Uh yeah, why don't we start?

[00:16:41]introduce appropriate, but Okay. Could you address >> yourself. Sorry, Julie Anderson, the Omaha World-Herald.

[00:16:49]>> Thank you. Um can you address um how many other outs We know we have 18 here. Initially there were 41 folks that were being monitored between here and other places.

[00:17:03]Um do you know how many are still under monitoring in other states? And also, can you address the question of the folks who uh uh I have received quarantine orders and have asked to go home. Why are they not allowed to do that if other people are monitored being monitored at home?

[00:17:30]So, uh P K Sahu, I'm the public information officer for the Department of Health and Human Services and for the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.

[00:17:40]Uh we can confirm that those two people did receive quarantine orders. I would refer you to CDC on the monitoring of the other patients.

[00:17:50]Uh I would reach out to [email protected] um and someone will be able to get back to you.

[00:18:02]Izzy Fonz Ferradjou, KETV.

[00:18:04]Um the governor mentioned once the hantavirus quarantine is over, it will be open for Ebola. Uh are there discussions being happening right now regarding uh patients coming here to the biocontainment unit, the quarantine unit, similar to how they did 10 years ago?

[00:18:21]I think that's also for me. Um at the moment uh ASPR works with our national special special pathogen system uh partners across the country. There are 13 uh RESPCs that are able to receive patients. There is no uh current uh need for that.

[00:18:44]Uh should that change, we work with them to make sure that uh especially University of Nebraska, to make sure that there is space for the those people.

[00:18:58]Other questions?

[00:18:59]I just just like to add that uh you know, once we can successfully complete this uh period with with our you know, current uh cohort here, that we'll be ready to uh, respond to whatever request comes and that our experts uh, at the Davis Global Center are contributing globally to to those efforts uh, through expertise and through advising. Thank you.

[00:19:24]Hi, Josh Funk with the Associated Press.

[00:19:27]Uh, can you talk a little bit about uh, your approach and plan for the length of the quarantine and at what point you'll look at uh, deciding when to send people home and the monitoring plan there. Um, I I know incubation period wise with this virus, a lot of times people develop illness around like 18 or 20 days and it's like at what point, you know, in terms of the timeline are you looking at considering sending people home and yeah, what what's the plan going forward?

[00:19:51]The timeline for the quarantine set by the CDC and so we're responding to that.

[00:19:58]And can you talk about what that timeline is from here? I Is there a point coming up like the end of the month where you'll be looking at uh, considering sending people home uh, around like 21 days or I mean, what what are the decision points ahead?

[00:20:13]Yes, this is Captain Gardner. I'm the regional administrator for region 7, Kansas City with ASPR and just for you I'll get to your question, but just before I answer that, I just want to let you know that I'm uh, part of the uh, part of the program that deals with uh, public health and medical emergency uh, response and and so some of the command and control of uh, public health emergency response. We have 10 regions across uh, the nation where our regional emergency coordinators and regional administrators uh, interface with partners like uh, NCU, UNMC uh, and our interagency federal team. And so that's that's really the uh, the job that I have here as the operations lead is managing the team of ASPR personnel that we have on the ground uh, dealing with the uh, behavioral health, uh, case management, uh, concierge services for the guest and uh serving as that coordination piece with the uh federal partners. And and so to answer your question, I I do think that uh uh we're we're poised and ready to work with CDC and Q once the clinicians and the experts let us know uh when that time frame is up uh to actually return these folks to their home of record. And so that's that's our piece of this uh puzzle is waiting for that expert consultation then to move on to the next stage.

[00:21:40]So it sounds like we don't know for sure yet when when that might happen.

[00:21:45]There are there are some dis- there are conversations happening on we're we're obviously we would love for everyone to stay the 42 days.

[00:21:51]Um but there are conversations on whether or not folks will be leaving prior to that, but again, that is in CDC's lane and and not my lane and I can't answer the question.

[00:22:02]And I think that no one wants to give you a you know, one answer and have that not be correct for for you know, a number of individuals who are here, but but each of them are being evaluated and will have a plan that's tailored to to what the CDC decides for each.

[00:22:19]I I know we've seen a couple new cases including one in the Netherlands. Do does that affect your thinking seeing these new cases pop up as you approach those decision points?

[00:22:32]Of course it does, you know, uh uh any any case, any symptoms, any positive test anywhere gives us more information about the biology of this viral illness and it it as you know, any good scientific approach would be, it influences our decision making.

[00:22:58]Anything else? Yes, sir. Um I I know you talked about all the passengers here being cooperative and encouraging but obviously we saw the order earlier this week towards two of them directing them to stay put and finish the quarantine here.

[00:23:10]Can you talk a little bit about that?

[00:23:11]Are some of the passengers pushing to head home? Do you anticipate additional orders being needed?

[00:23:18]How is that going with the passengers as far as their their willingness to stay here?

[00:23:23]I I think there's many that would really like to be home and and you know are either electing to stay here for the full you know the full period or or wanting to go home earlier and I think each of those will be evaluated on an individual basis and according to what is decided by the CDC. There's potential that some may leave before the the 42 days but I a blanket statement as far as duration would be difficult to make.

[00:23:46]Can you talk about the criteria you look at as you evaluate each case individually? What's going to help you decide who's ready to go home? I'm not the decider on that so I'd have to defer to CDC.

[00:24:00]Anything else folks?

[00:24:06]Well, if not I'd certainly like to thank the individuals who gathered today. I'd like to really extend our appreciation to the media for being here today to share this message of confidence and competence and on that note I think we are adjourned. So thank you so much.

[00:25:17]>> Mhm.