'I Know Brits Will Say This Is Violently American': US Woman Readies $1M to Sue Cruise Passengers Who Refuse to Self-Isolate

A woman from Connecticut has vowed to take legal action against cruise passengers who refuse to self-isolate following confirmed cases of hantavirus in the US.

Teresa Jack, who experienced the severe effects of COVID-19, wants to ensure that the same thing would not happen with another possible pandemic. She and 15,000 others have organised to raise $1 million for the possible lawsuit.

Why Connecticut Woman Believes $1M Lawsuit is Necessary

While speaking with Metro UK, Jack acknowledged that what she is planning is very American, but she does not care. She and the group supporting her want to ensure that Americans have a say in how to stop the spread of hantavirus.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans were left defenceless against the virus. Jack herself lost some of her loved ones and was seriously ill after contracting the disease. The theatre actress's income was also affected by the pandemic because she had no performances due to the closure of hundreds of establishments across the US.

'I am not a lawyer, but I am a woman with a spreadsheet. I lost too much over Covid, and we Americans are sick of everything feeling out of our control... The American people were left defenceless during the last pandemic. Solidarity and community would look different this time,' she said.

Jack added that she knows Britons would say that threatening a lawsuit is such an American thing to do. However, she believes action should be taken against those who refuse to protect their lives and the lives of other people. Not only is Jack threatening to sue cruise passengers, but she is also threatening to sue lawmakers for failing to protect public health.

Hantavirus Death Toll Update

As of writing, at least three people have died after contracting hantavirus and five further cases have been reported. There are suspicions that a couple who visited a landfill in Argentina contracted the disease while there. The couple later went on a cruise and is believed to have spread hantavirus to other passengers. They later died after succumbing to the virus.

There were reportedly several Americans on board the cruise ship. After they were evacuated earlier this week, they were asked to quarantine and are being monitored around the clock. Officials from the US Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Monday that 18 American passengers evacuated from the ship tested positive at a testing facility in Nebraska. Three US states — Georgia, California, and Arizona — are also being monitored.

What is Hantavirus?

Hantavirus is a family of viruses typically spread through exposure to infected rodents. The Andes virus, a strain of hantavirus identified in the current outbreak, is considered the only variant associated with limited person-to-person transmission. Once contracted, it can cause severe and potentially fatal respiratory illness.

Trump's Comments Draw Scientific Scrutiny

After hantavirus cases were confirmed, Donald Trump released a statement appearing to downplay the virus's seriousness. The president claimed that hantavirus does not spread easily, according to Bloomberg. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that while most hantavirus strains spread through rodent contact and do not transmit between people, the Andes virus strain — identified in the current outbreak — is considered the only hantavirus strain associated with limited person-to-person transmission, a characteristic that has informed the quarantine measures currently in place.