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State quarantines amid Ebola threat draw criticism as governors defend actions State quarantines amid Ebola threat draw criticism as governors defend actions
(about 2 hours later)
A top federal health official and medical experts on Sunday sharply criticized the mandatory quarantines by some states on aid workers returning from Ebola-stricken nations, saying the strict mandates could hamper overall efforts to combat the deadly virus at its epicenters. A top federal health official and medical experts on Sunday sharply criticized some states’ mandatory quarantines of aid workers returning from Ebola-stricken nations, saying the strict mandates could hamper overall efforts to combat the deadly virus at its epicenters.
But even with growing criticism over their aggressive mandates, the governors of New Jersey and New York on Sunday defended the policies and were joined by the governor of Florida who announced similar measures. But even with growing pressure to reverse their mandates, the governors of New Jersey and New York on Sunday defended the policies, and they were joined by the governor of Florida, who announced similar measures.
The conflicting interests of federal and state officials highlight a conundrum for the United States as it takes a leading role in fighting the contagion of Ebola in West Africa while also trying to calm rising anxieties about the potential spread of the disease at home. The conflicting interests of federal and state officials highlight a conundrum for the United States as it takes a leading role in fighting the contagion of Ebola in West Africa, while also trying to calm rising anxieties about the potential spread of the disease at home.
In several Sunday news talk shows, a top official at the National Institutes of Health said the 21-day quarantines in three states — New York, New Jersey and Illinois — could have the “unintended consequences” of deterring American health-care experts from volunteering to deploy in countries such as Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, where the spread of the virus continues to rage. The Obama administration on Sunday said it has expressed concerns to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) about the “unintended consequences” of the quarantines and how they could deter volunteers from deploying to West Africa, where the spread of Ebola continues to rage.
“The best way to protect us is to stop the epidemic in Africa, and we need those health-care workers so we do not want to put them in a position where it makes it very, very uncomfortable for them to even volunteer to go,” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We have let the governors of New York, New Jersey, and others states know that we have concerns with the unintended consequences . . . policies not grounded in science may have on efforts to combat Ebola at its source in West Africa,” said a senior administration official, who requested anonymity to comment on the private discussions.
He recommended voluntary monitoring, not isolation, of returning health-care workers, stressing that Ebola cannot be spread unless symptoms appear. In several Sunday news talk shows, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, rebuked the quarantine policies. He said sending American volunteers to countries such as Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone is vital to efforts to contain the virus there, and he warned that stringent isolation policies for the aid workers upon their return would hamper the global fight against Ebola.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) defended their policies, saying the potential threat was too great to leave to self-monitoring by returning aid workers. “The best way to protect us is to stop the epidemic in Africa, and we need those health-care workers, so we do not want to put them in a position where it makes it very, very uncomfortable for them to even volunteer to go,” Fauci said on “Fox News Sunday.”
He recommended voluntary monitoring, not isolation, for returning health-care workers, stressing that Ebola cannot be spread unless symptoms appear.
The White House plans to announce new guidelines for returning health-care workers to help prevent imported cases of Ebola while also encouraging volunteers to combat the disease abroad, the administration official said, adding that it would consult with states on new federal policies.
The state leaders argued Sunday that the potential threat of spreading the disease was too great to leave to self-monitoring by returning aid workers. Already hundreds of volunteers have deployed and hundreds more American health-care workers, military service members and humanitarian workers are expected to join them in coming weeks.
“I don’t believe when you’re dealing with something as serious as this that we can count on a voluntary system,” Christie said on “Fox News Sunday.” “The government’s job is to protect [the] safety and health of our citizens. And so we’ve taken this action, and I absolutely have no second thoughts about it.”“I don’t believe when you’re dealing with something as serious as this that we can count on a voluntary system,” Christie said on “Fox News Sunday.” “The government’s job is to protect [the] safety and health of our citizens. And so we’ve taken this action, and I absolutely have no second thoughts about it.”
Cuomo defended his actions on a New York radio show Sunday morning, answering critics who said a quarantine would be too difficult to enforce. “It’s highly unlikely that a doctor who is coming back, who just volunteered, who may be infected, wouldn’t cooperate with the quarantine,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “I mean, it is exactly antithetical to what the doctor does, right?”Cuomo defended his actions on a New York radio show Sunday morning, answering critics who said a quarantine would be too difficult to enforce. “It’s highly unlikely that a doctor who is coming back, who just volunteered, who may be infected, wouldn’t cooperate with the quarantine,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “I mean, it is exactly antithetical to what the doctor does, right?”
Christie and Cuomo announced their quarantine orders Friday after aid worker Craig Spencer was diagnosed with the virus earlier in the week. Spencer is being treated in isolation at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York. Christie and Cuomo announced their quarantine orders Friday after aid worker Craig Spencer was diagnosed with the virus earlier in the week. Spencer is being treated in isolation at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York. Ram Raju, a Bellevue doctor, said in a news conference Sunday afternoon with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio that Spencer is “looking a little bit better than he looked yesterday. But he remains in serious but stable condition with the expected symptoms of the virus.”
The governors of Illinois and Florida followed with similar mandates to monitor returning airline passengers who have been in contact with Ebola patients in West African nations. The measures go beyond federal guidelines and the recommendations of infectious disease experts. The governors of Illinois and Florida followed New York and New Jersey with stronger mandates to monitor returning airline passengers who have been in contact with Ebola patients in West African nations. The measures go beyond federal guidelines and the recommendations of infectious disease experts.
The first person to be held in state quarantine, nurse Kaci Hickox, said she was mistreated after being held in isolatioin since Friday. Without showing any symptoms of Ebola, the volunteer for Doctors Without Borders said she was ordered into isolation after arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport from Sierra Leone. The states’ policies have drawn criticism from infectious-disease experts and humanitarian organizations.
“This is an extreme that is really unacceptable, and I feel like my basic human rights have been violated,” Hickox told CNN’s Candy Crowley on “State of the Union.”
Medical experts say the response by states is not grounded in science. Ebola can only be spread through the contact of bodily fluids and only when symptoms appear. So the best way to ensure returning health workers don’t carry the virus is to monitor their health for when symptoms appear, they say.
“These are the real heroes, and we want to do everything we can to support them, not isolate and deter them,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University and the director of the World Health Organization’s center on public-health law. “The public and politicians understand that you need to attack terrorism at its source, but somehow they fail to understand that is equally and probably more true with infectious diseases.”“These are the real heroes, and we want to do everything we can to support them, not isolate and deter them,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University and the director of the World Health Organization’s center on public-health law. “The public and politicians understand that you need to attack terrorism at its source, but somehow they fail to understand that is equally and probably more true with infectious diseases.”
The first person to be held in quarantine, nurse Kaci Hickox, said she was mistreated after being held in quarantine since Friday afternoon. Without showing any symptoms of Ebola, the volunteer for Doctors Without Borders said she was ordered into isolation after arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport from Sierra Leone. She is still being held in a tent set up as an isolation ward adjacent to the Newark University Hospital and has not been informed about any next steps by state health officials, according to Doctors Without Borders.
On Sunday, Hickox told CNN’s Candy Crowley on “State of the Union”: “This is an extreme that is really unacceptable, and I feel like my basic human rights have been violated.”
Medical experts complain that response by New Jersey and New York are not grounded in science. Ebola can be spread only through the contact of bodily fluids and only when symptoms appear. So the best way to ensure returning health workers do not carry the virus is to monitor their health for when symptoms appear, they say.
In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott (R) on Saturday ordered that any travelers returning from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone must get twice-daily health evaluations by state health officials for 21 days. He said the policy was put into place out of frustration that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had not provided risk assessments for four people who had entered the state from the Ebola-stricken nations.
Health officials will conduct the twice-daily evaluations in subjects’ homes and can put into quarantine anyone they determine to be “high-risk,” said Frank Collins, a spokesman for the governor’s office.
The White House has tried to quell anxieties about the danger of Ebola spreading in the United States. In his weekly address to the nation, President Obama stressed that only a handful of people have been diagnosed with the virus in the United States.
“We have to keep leading the global response,” Obama said. “We have to be guided by science, guided by facts, not by fear.”
Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.