Maine Nurse Defies Quarantine Order, Testing States’ Efforts On Ebola
The nurse opts to go for a bike ride Thursday morning against orders from the governor. Meanwhile, California also announces it is setting up a 21-day home quarantine policy for any health care workers returning from West Africa.
The New York Times:
Threat Of Lawsuit Could Test Maine’s Quarantine Policy
A nurse who cared for Ebola patients in Sierra Leone was headed for a legal showdown with the State of Maine on Wednesday over whether the state can quarantine her against her will. The dispute is heightening a national debate over how to balance public health and public fears against the rights and freedoms of health care workers, and troops, returning from West Africa. (Zernike and Fitzsimmons, 10/29)
The Associated Press:
Nurse Defies Ebola Quarantine In Maine
A nurse who vowed to defy Maine's voluntary quarantine for health care workers who treated Ebola patients followed through on her promise Thursday, leaving her home for a bike ride. Kaci Hickox and her boyfriend stepped out of their home Thursday morning and rode away on bicycles, followed by state police who were monitoring her movements and public interactions. Police couldn't detain her without a court order signed by a judge. (Bukaty, 10/30)
Los Angeles Times:
State Orders Quarantine For Workers Who Had Contact With Ebola
California's top health officer has ordered a 21-day home quarantine for all returning medical workers or travelers who have had contact with a confirmed case of Ebola in West Africa, and invoked the possibility of imprisonment and fines if the restrictions are disobeyed. The order, issued Wednesday by California Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ron Chapman, is the latest in a series of measures issued by state governments in response to widespread — and some say unwarranted — public fear. (Morin and Flores, 10/29)
The Associated Press:
Quarantines Rarely Used, Effectiveness Questioned
The Spanish flu pandemic a century ago prompted the last large-scale quarantines in this country. Now the Ebola outbreak is raising new questions about whether ordering quarantines is an effective way to fight deadly disease in the U.S. (10/30)
