Today show's Al Roker has revealed he was asked to undergo voluntary testing by the CDC after returning from Europe amid the hantavirus outbreak. The beloved meteorologist, 71, had been abroad for his daughter's wedding over the weekend.
CDC Monitoring at US Borders
Upon landing back in the US, Roker noticed experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention seeking to monitor returning passengers. Speaking to co-hosts Craig Melvin and Dylan Dreyer on Tuesday's episode of the Third Hour of Today, Roker said: 'I was coming from Europe this weekend for my daughter's wedding, and the CDC was asking people to voluntarily test themselves. But they didn't say for what so I just wonder if it was a precaution here.'
Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship
At the time of writing, rodent-borne hantavirus has killed three passengers who were aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak. He did warn however that the situation could change, and given the long incubation period of the virus, it is 'possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks.'
While hantaviruses are usually spread by wild rodents, it is now all but proven that the disease can be passed from person to person via bodily fluids, which can harbor infectious particles. Symptoms can include shortness of breath, fever, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Experts have insisted that there is little risk to the public and that this isn't another pandemic, because the virus spreads only through close contact, such as kissing or sharing food or drinks.
Passengers Monitored for 42 Days
On Monday, 18 passengers who were on the MV Hondius cruise arrived back in the US. The CDC said it will be monitoring all passengers for symptoms for at least 42 days. On Tuesday night, a British tourist who boarded a plane with a woman who later died from hantavirus was detained at an Italian bar and ordered to quarantine in hospital for a month - despite showing no symptoms and testing negative for the disease. The holiday-maker and his companion - who was not even on the flight in question - were apprehended outside the bar on Tuesday night and taken to Sacco Hospital in Milan by the authorities. They have both been placed in quarantine until June 6, completing the 42-day isolation period required by the ministry of health.
The British citizen, who is in his 60s, had boarded the same Airlink flight from Saint Helena to Johannesburg as MV Hondius passenger Mirjam Schilperoord, 69, who later died, as well as a second person who later tested positive. Mirjam was the wife of Dutch ornithologist Leo Schilperoord, 70, who is believed to be 'patient zero.' The couple became sick after visiting a landfill site in Argentina to watch birds. The UK government notified Italian authorities about the British tourist, who had visited various countries including Amsterdam before arriving in Milan, where his travel plans came to an abrupt halt. Because he had no private accommodation and was staying in a B&B, he will have to endure the whole of his quarantine in a single room in the Infectious Diseases ward of the hospital.
Roker's Family Wedding
Roker's 27-year-old daughter Leila married her boyfriend Sylvain Gricourt on Mother's Day weekend. Roker shares daughter Leila and son Nick with his wife Deborah Roberts, whom he married in 1995. He is also a father to daughter Courtney, whom he welcomed with his late ex-wife Alice Bell. Ahead of the ceremony, Roker and Roberts expressed their excitement for Leila's big day. 'I'm excited to go dress shopping with her, of course,' Roberts gushed to People at the NYC Ballet Gala. She added to the publication that she was thrilled to see her daughter 'so happy' while Roker agreed with her sentiments. Leila and Gricourt announced their engagement in March 2025. The couple met seven years prior, a year after she moved to France to study at the American University of Paris.
