One caved.
Well, when you put it that way (note: the NYT has since changed the text without noting those changes)…
The Obama administration has been pushing the governors of New York and New Jersey to reverse their decision ordering all medical workers returning from West Africa who had contact with Ebola patients to be quarantined, an administration official said on Sunday.
But both governors, Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie of New Jersey, stood by their decision, saying that the federal guidelines did not go far enough.
Yes, yes, we are all shocked to hear that Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie are not entirely willing to do Barack Obama – and, by extension, the Democratic party – a favor by relaxing quarantine procedures in their respective states. Particularly since relaxing those procedures could put the citizens of both New York and New Jersey at terrible risk*. The interesting thing here is that Cuomo’s position is protecting Christie’s, and vice versa: each one can claim, thanks to the other, that their decision is free from political considerations. Which is of course absurd, but then Barack Obama’s position is even more tied into political considerations, so it all evens out in the wash.
None of this answers the question Should we have a quarantine? To that my answer is When it comes to medical personnel returning from treating Ebola cases? Yes, indeed. Which is why this passage from the same NYT article isn’t sitting well with me:
…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.”
There have been enough stories of medical personnel coming down with Ebola to justify a quarantine, frankly. I respect the heck of anybody willing to go into West Africa and treat people suffering from a dangerously infectious disease that liquefies your insides. Doesn’t mean that I’m fine with not quarantining those people when they come back.
Moe Lane (crosspost)
PS: As this article was being written, Andrew Cuomo did a press conference in which he – well, let’s be honest about it; Cuomo was pressured by the Democratic party to loosen his state’s quarantine policy. Health care personnel will be allowed to self-isolate at home: regular travelers from exposed areas will be monitored twice-daily. That is… a gamble; Andrew Cuomo is essentially betting that a perfunctory quarantine will catch anybody who actually has the disease. The footnote below is now even more important; if Cuomo’s wrong, his career will be over. And, you know, people will die.
*No need to discuss the risk to either man’s future political career: if they reversed the quarantine conditions and people end up getting sick with Ebola, neither will actually havea career to risk.
I’ve noticed that many lawyers seem to believe that all it takes to negate the laws of physics, the principles of logic, and the concept of cause and effect is to pass some legislation or to get a favorable ruling from a judge. When all is going well, we can endure a little bit of this sort of nonsense. But eventually some idiot will think that because he has secured an injunction against enforcement of the law of gravity, he can step off a cliff without consequences.
Our beloved President seems to think that he can persuade a deadly viral disease to refrain from propagating to America by means of his high-minded speeches, clever quips, and sheer force of personality. It may be that we will be spared an outbreak of Ebola … but if so, it won’t be due to anything that Barack Obama has done.
Here’s a legal question: If a lawyer breaks the quarantine on someone and that person eventually does test positive for ebola and have traveled via the subway/cabs all over New York and New Jersey spreading the risk of exposure around, do they bear some legal liability for helping to spread the risk if others who came into contact with said individual came down with it as well? It would be interesting I think if a judge hearing the case decided that the lawyer would bear some responsibility personally if the quarantine is reversed and damage occurs because of it.
As an RN, I have to weigh in on this. 1) Ms. Hickox is a disgrace to the profession. Whining about being quarantined when she was in a high-risk situation is self-centered. Look at the doctor who returned and supposedly did a “self-quarantine” for a few days, thought he was okay, and is now fighting for his life.
Containing and preventing the spread of infectious diseases, especially deadly ones, is the primary responsibility of every states’ health dept. Every state has laws on the books regarding Isolation – when symptomatic, and Quarantine – potentially exposed. The governors were doing the right thing by their citizens.
60 Minutes had an excellent segment last night regarding the hospitalization and care Thomas Duncan received in the Texas hospital. The nurses who cared for him were interviewed. It was clear they had been compassionate and professional.
A fact which came out during the interviews was that Mr. Duncan had not said he’d been in West Africa and exposed to Ebola. Also, the pregnant woman with Ebola who he had helped transport to the hospital had been his daughter. He knew…but the nurses were not judgmental, they gave the information diplomatically.
Well if certain, less then credible news sites are to be considered accurate, then Hickox is a left-wing activist in addition to being a nurse, and she is currently working with the ACLU.
Just for the record, BOTH have caved. The nurse quarantined in New Jersey has been released and has flown to Maine. Also in passing, the fiance of the infected doctor has been released to “self-monitor”. And there is a 5 year old who is isolated for possible Ebola in NYC. It seems that within the last 21 days he was in West Africa. The circle of Hell that his parents should be in for taking or allowing him to be taken there is still under debate.