RFK Jr. Quarantine Dispute
RFK Jr. Overrules Medical Experts, Maintains Hantavirus Quarantine Amid Rights Outcry
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Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has overruled his own medical experts to keep a symptom-free Florida woman locked in a Nebraska quarantine facility, weeks after a federal reviewer said she could safely go home. AP News reports that Angela Perryman, a 47-year-old retiree and wildlife photographer, has been confined at the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha since May 11 after being exposed to hantavirus on a cruise ship.
On June 15, Kennedy signed an order rejecting the recommendation of Dr. Michael Bell, his own HHS-appointed reviewer, who concluded Perryman posed no public health risk and should be allowed to finish quarantine at home. Perryman has tested negative repeatedly and remains symptom-free. Her scheduled release date is June 21 — the end of the virus's 42-day maximum incubation period.
A Cruise Ship Outbreak Lands 18 Americans in Nebraska
The case began when the M/V Hondius cruise ship suffered a deadly Andes hantavirus outbreak in the South Atlantic. Three passengers died. On May 11, 18 Americans were flown to Omaha's National Quarantine Unit, according to Newsweek. The Andes strain is uniquely dangerous — it is the only hantavirus known to spread from person to person. HHS has cited a 40% case fatality rate, roughly 40 times higher than COVID-19, to justify strict containment.
By May 31, ten passengers who agreed to federal monitoring conditions were allowed to return home. Eight others, including Perryman, remained in Nebraska. The sticking point was Florida. State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo refused to deploy 24/7 law enforcement guards at Perryman's home, calling the federal demands "not necessary" and "overkill," according to The Washington Post. He proposed telehealth check-ins instead.
Kennedy Overrules His Own Expert's Release Recommendation
On June 11, Dr. Michael Bell completed an independent medical review and concluded that Perryman could safely complete her quarantine at home in Florida. He said the federal detention order should be rescinded, according to Inside Medicine. Four days later, Kennedy overruled him. An HHS spokesperson defended the move, saying it was "necessary to ensure both Ms. Perryman's and her community's well-being," per WSB Radio.
Perryman has pushed back hard. "They're using administrative orders to detain American citizens with no judicial oversight," she told reporters. "I don't want to be dehumanized anymore." She has also alleged the continued detention is retaliation for speaking to the media, according to Newsweek. No court has yet reviewed her case, and critics say that lack of judicial oversight is the core problem.
Legal Scholars Call the Order an Egregious Rights Violation
Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University public health law expert who helped write the current federal quarantine rules, called the decision "an egregious violation" and a "shocking disregard for both science and personal freedom," according to Healthbeat. Federal quarantine law under 42 CFR Part 70 requires the government to use the "least restrictive means" possible. Gostin argues Perryman is being punished specifically because her state is defending her civil liberties — not because she is a danger.
Other medical experts agree. Dr. Jeremy Faust testified independently that 42 days of institutional confinement for a symptom-free, repeatedly negative-testing person is not medically justified, per Inside Medicine. Meanwhile, MedPage Today notes that the federal government has already spent $750,000 evacuating just one passenger from a remote location, raising questions about the costs — financial and constitutional — of this approach.
The Irony: A MAHA Champion Now Enforcing a Literal Lockdown
The controversy carries a sharp political edge. Kennedy built his public profile attacking COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccine mandates as government overreach. His "Make America Healthy Again" movement champions medical freedom. Now, as Healthbeat notes, he is using federal police power to hold a symptom-free citizen in confinement — against the advice of his own medical reviewer — with no judicial oversight.
The case could reshape federal quarantine authority. A successful legal challenge might limit the HHS Secretary's power to override medical reviewers in future outbreaks. It also exposes a state-federal fault line: if states refuse federal monitoring demands, the Nebraska facility could effectively become a default detention center for exposed citizens, according to Healthbeat. Perryman's quarantine is set to end June 21 — assuming Kennedy does not extend it further.
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