White House Presses States to Reconsider Mandatory Ebola Quarantine Orders

UPDATE:    Under Pressure, Cuomo Loosens Policy for Ebola Quarantines in New York

NEW YORK TIMES                                                             Oct. 26, 2014

by MATT FLEGENHEIMER, MICHAEL D. SHEAR and MICHAEL BARBARO

NEW YORK --Facing fierce resistance from the White House and medical experts to a strict new mandatory quarantine policy for all medical workers who had contact with Ebola patients in West Africa, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Sunday night that people quarantined in New York who do not show symptoms of the disease would be allowed to remain at home and would receive compensation for lost income....

He said his decision balanced public safety with the need to avoid deterring medical professionals from volunteering in West Africa. “My number one job is to protect the people of New York, and this does that,” he said. Those quarantined at home will be visited twice a day by local authorities, he said. Family members will be allowed to stay, and friends may visit with the approval of health officials.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/nyregion/ebola-quarantine.html?_r=0

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Earlier stories

Obama administration presses back against quarantines;  Florida orders monitoring of persons returning from Ebola stricken areas.

Two stories. (Scroll down.)

NEW YORK TIMES                                     Oct. 26, 2014

                                                                  Kaci Hickox. Credit Kara Hickox

The first person to be forced into isolation under the new protocols, Kaci Hickox, a nurse returning from Sierra Leone, planned to mount a legal challenge to the quarantine order. Despite having no symptoms, she has been kept under quarantine at a hospital in New Jersey, where she has been confined to a tent equipped with a portable toilet and no shower. On Sunday, she spoke to CNN about the way she has been treated, describing it as “inhumane.”

One administration official said the federal government has been pressing the governors to back off their decisions, which quarantine all medical workers who had contact with Ebola patients. But another official said the administration has not specifically asked the governors to reverse their policies.

Mr. Obama held a meeting with his top advisers at the White House on Sunday as officials work to craft a policy that reassures Americans that they are protected from the virus while following the guidance of the government’s scientific advisers. Officials said that policy will be ready in days and that the government would urge all states to follow it. On Sunday both governors, Andrew M.Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie of Jersey, stoof by their decisions, saying that th current federal guidelines did not go far enough.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/nyregion/ebola-quarantine.html?_r=0

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Florida Orders 21-Day Monitoring for Ebola

 ASSOCIATED PRESS                                                                            Oct. 26, 2014

Scott signed the order Saturday, giving the Florida Health Department authority to monitor individuals for 21 days. Scott said in a press release that his administration had asked the CDC to identify risk levels of returning individuals from specific parts of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, requesting information specifically about the risk level for four people who had already returned. His office said that the CDC had identified the four individuals who faced some risk but had not provided the levels of risk....

There are no direct flights to the United States from West Africa. It was not immediately clear how many individuals returning from the affected areas would end up in Florida.

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http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/gov-rick-scott-orders-21-day-monitoring-ebola-26463732