Three residents of New York are among the 17 Americans affected by a hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship, with one from New York City and two others from Orange and Westchester counties, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday.

The governor did not disclose the names of the individuals but confirmed their home regions within the state.

All American passengers from the vessel were transported back to the United States on Sunday aboard a government medical evacuation flight and taken to the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha for further testing and isolation.

Two of the American passengers have already tested positive for the virus, including one who is currently experiencing symptoms.

Health officials said the individuals will be permitted to leave the facility once they complete their initial evaluations, though they must continue to undergo monitoring for six weeks due to the virus’s high mortality rate, estimated at about 38%.

“I believe that there’s a 42-day monitoring period, and they can decide whether they want to do that in Nebraska or come back and make other accommodations,” Hochul said.

Hochul noted she was unsure whether the affected New Yorkers would remain out of state or return home while completing the monitoring period.

Although she minimized concerns about a widespread outbreak on the scale of COVID-19, the governor emphasized that state officials are taking the situation seriously and preparing accordingly.

“This is New York, it’s a large, densely populated state and city, and I just need to do the responsible thing and prepare,” she said.

The development comes shortly after reports that two residents of New Jersey may have been exposed to hantavirus while traveling overseas and coming into contact with passengers from the same Dutch cruise ship.

{Matzav.com}