Woman prepares $1,000,000 to sue hantavirus passengers who refuse to self-isolate
Teresa Jack, who lives in Connecticut, has already consulted with her lawyers about passengers spreading the disease (Picture: AP/Teresa jack)
A woman is preparing to sue anyone on the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius who does not self-isolate.
Teresa Jack, who lives in Connecticut, has already consulted with her lawyers about passengers spreading the disease once they disembark the ship.
Three people have died following the outbreak of the virus, with eight reported cases. It is suspected a Dutch couple who visited a landfill in Argentina caught the disease and brought it onto the cruise ship with them.
There are 17 US citizens still on board the ship, as well as a number of passengers who returned home before the outbreak was confirmed.
At least three US states – Georgia, California and Arizona – are monitoring people who may have been exposed to the virus, which has a 50% mortality rate according to the World Health Organisation.
Now Teresa has organised a lawsuit in case a preventable outbreak occurs due to people not self-isolating.
Individuals wearing hazmat suits are helped into an ambulance (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)
The 35-year-old has received support from nearly 15,000 people, who have pledged to contribute $1 million to the legal fund should it go ahead.
Teresa told Metro: ‘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 US’s war in Iran, Trump’s tariffs and the Covid-19 virus have all contributed to a feeling of helplessness, Teresa, a musical theatre performer, said.
She lost out on income after theatres were closed, which she is still feeling the financial affects of this to this day.
Teresa also lost loved ones to Covid as well as nearly dying after contracting it herself
‘The American people were left defenceless during the last pandemic,’ she said. ‘Solidarity and community will look very different this time.’
She added: ‘I know Brits will say it is a violently American way to threaten with a lawsuit. But that’s the culture we live in, so it’s the action we need to take.’
Her lawsuit, which she will open up as class action, will include those who choose not to self-isolate as well as government institutions for failing to protect public health.
The neighbours of those who are on board the ship have reached out to Teresa directly, pledging their support.
And since its announcement, Teresa has been in contact with the state of Arizona’s Attorney General’s Office.
She told them ‘concerned citizens are preared to pool $1 million should a preventable outbreak occur’.
Since that confirmation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said passengers will be flown to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska.
They will then be taken to the National Quarantine Centre.
Teresa said: ‘I feel like the threat has already made a difference.’
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