Egg sandwiches and colouring book: Life in US quarantine after cruise

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Egg sandwiches and isolation - Life in US hantavirus quarantine51 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleSheila FlynnSenior US reporter Jake Rosmarin made an egg sandwich for breakfast Wednesday in his quarantine room in Omaha using ingredients ordered from a numbered menu provided by staff at the medical facility he and 15 others expect to call home for the next 40 days. The 29-year-old had planned to be back in Boston with his fiance after a 35-day cruise to some of the most remote places on Earth. Instead, hantavirus claimed the lives of three of his fellow passengers on the MV Hondius - sparking an international frenzy over how and where to repatriate others onboard.

Facing weeks alone in quarantine, Rosmarin told the on Wednesday that he was adapting to the new routine of "not too much". An "all-garbed-up" nurse knocks on his door twice a day to remind him to take and report his temperature, which so far has been normal. For other interactions, like bringing food and requested blankets, staff are similarly "garbed up, not in hazmat suits, but they are garbed up in a better mask and a shield and that kind of stuff".

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When staff entered Rosmarin's room to take blood on Tuesday, they were dressed in even more gear, "and between rooms, they have to take it off and then put on new gear", he said. On Wednesday morning, he had not yet received the results of those Tuesday tests. But he has been keeping busy by ordering creature comforts to help him endure the stay.

"I'm expecting some packages today and tomorrow, and hopefully I can start making it feel a little more like home," he said. "I'm expecting a mattress pad for my bed and new pillows and things like that. "The packages were a mix of items Rosmarin ordered and items sent by loved ones.

"I think I'm just overwhelmed," he said. "I don't even know what to request. But yesterday, the first package that I got was a colouring book … one of the fun ones that are more for adults.

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I think it's like inspirational quotes or something like that. "Unfortunately, the other package has the colouring pencils, and I didn't get that one delivered yet. Hopefully I'll be getting that today.

"Jake RosmarinJake RosmarinIn the meantime, he has been regularly communicating with his fiance and family, and he has messaged other passengers also quarantined in Omaha. Rosmarin and 14 other American passengers arrived Monday morning at the National Quarantine Unit, part of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the only federally funded such unit in the US. Another US passenger, Dr Stephen Kornfeld – who had helped with the medical crisis while on board – tested positive for hantavirus and is isolating at a nearby biocontainment unit in Omaha.

Two additional American passengers were sent to Emory University in Atlanta, which also has a biocontainment unit. Rosmarin's room has a phone, an exercise bike, bed, drawers, bathroom, chairs, desk and TV.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.