New York, New Jersey Set Up Mandatory Quarantine Requirement Amid Ebola Threat
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- In the wake of the first confirmed Ebola virus case in New York City, the states of New York and New Jersey have set up a new screening system that goes above and beyond the guidelines already set up by federal officials.
The guidelines have already been used for a traveler returning from West Africa who developed a fever Friday night.
And as CBS 2's Alice Gainer reported, no other states have yet set up increased screening procedures for Ebola.
"We believe it's appropriate to increase the current screening procedures from people coming from affected countries from the current (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention screening procedures)," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday afternoon. "We believe it within the State of New York and the State of New Jersey's legal rights."
New York, New Jersey Set Up Mandatory Quarantine Requirement Amid Ebola Threat
Under the new rules, state officials will establish a risk level by considering the countries that people have visited and their level of possible exposure to Ebola.
EXTRA: More On Ebola From The CDC
The patients with the highest level of possible exposure will be automatically quarantined for 21 days at a government-regulated facility. As WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported, those patients include anyone having direct contact with a person infected with Ebola while in Liberia, Guinea, or Sierra Leone.
Those with a lower risk will be monitored for temperature and symptoms, Cuomo explained.
The New York and New Jersey health departments will determine their own specific procedures for hospitalization and quarantine, and will provide a daily recap to state officials on the status of screening, New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said at the news conference.
The new procedures already have been put into use at Newark Liberty International Airport.
On Friday, a health care worker landed at Newark after treating Ebola patients in West Africa, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said at the news conference. A legal quarantine was issued for the woman, who was not a New Jersey resident and was set to go on to New York afterward.
"This woman, while her home residence is outside the area, said her next stop was going to be here in New York," Christie said. "Governor Cuomo and I discussed it before we came out here, and a quarantine order will be issued."
The woman will be quarantined in either New York or New Jersey, Christie said.
The woman was not showing any symptoms of Ebola, or illness of any kind, when she landed at Newark, CBS 2's Jessica Schneider reported. But Friday evening, she developed a fever after being placed in isolation at University Hospital in Newark, according to the New Jersey Department of Health.
And Cuomo and Christie said it no longer matters if someone is showing symptoms or not.
Indeed, in discussing the new plan, Cuomo and Christie said a policy of voluntary quarantine simply does not go far enough.
"Voluntary quarantine – you know it's almost an oxymoron. This is a very serious situation," Cuomo said. "Voluntary quarantine – raise your right hand and promise you're going to stay home for 21 days. We've seen what happens."
Two people on Long Island were also affected by the new screening rules. The Suffolk County Health Department said the travelers landed at JFK after a trip to West Africa, and were not sick when they arrived.
But pursuant to the new rules, they will be monitored for 21 days.
The new rules were announced a day after Dr. Craig Spencer, a member of Doctors Without Borders, became New York City's first Ebola patient.
He reported Thursday morning coming down with a fever and diarrhea and is being treated in an isolation ward at Bellevue Hospital, a designated Ebola center.
Spencer returned from West Africa last Friday after treating Ebola patients in Guinea with Doctors Without Borders. He arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport, passing the extensive CDC screening process.
"When he arrived in the United States, he was also well with no symptoms," said New York City Health Commissioner Mary Travis Bassett.
Doctors Without Borders said per the guidelines it provides its staff members on their return from Ebola assignments, "the individual engaged in regular health monitoring and reported this development immediately.'' But Spencer also took the subway, walked the High Line, and went bowling in Williamsburg, Brooklyn the day before he became sick.
"He was a doctor, and even he didn't follow the guidelines," Cuomo said.
With that in mind, the states have to lay down the law, the governors said.
"It's too serious a situation to leave it to the honor system," Cuomo said.
The CDC is reviewing its policy for health care workers returning from West Africa, but anyone flying into a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey airport will need to abide by the new procedures.
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