By Amy Winterfeld
When a traveler from West Africa was diagnosed with Ebola on Sept. 30 in Dallas, NCSL’s web page summarizing state laws on quarantine and isolation began trending in a curious way.
Page visits from around the country show a quest for information from locations where the nine U.S. Ebola patients live, received treatment or have traveled in this country. For example, Web searches from Nebraska looked for “quarantine” and those from Ohio focused on “isolation.”
States and local health officials have authority to use quarantine and isolation to prevent the spread of communicable diseases but rarely exercise that authority.
The federal government has authority as well, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to monitor and respond to the spread of communicable diseases across national or state borders, and to assist state governments. CDC last updated its public health guidelines related to people with potential Ebola exposure on Oct. 29.
NCSL continues to update its web page on state quarantine and isolation laws, which also links to resources from CDC and other public health groups, and to a separate NCSL Federal Public Health Emergency Law page, that is currently being updated, which summarizes major relevant federal laws associated with emergency preparedness and response.
Amy Winterfeld is a program director in NCSL's Health program. Email Amy.