|
Abstract: Are you willing to set aside over 10% of your life this year to be physically corralled and medically monitored daily in a federal facility on the grounds that your potential exposure to a sometimes lethal disease which is not easily spread person-to-person may lead to your infection and threaten others? Public health authority to quarantine individuals in the United States is well-established and practiced annually largely through state and local governments. Yet, what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted beginning in May 2026 tied to the hantavirus – Andes strain (Andes virus) outbreak on a foreign cruise ship arguably exceeded effective, ethical, and lawful quarantine powers. CDC stretched the boundaries of its quarantine authority in her case while similarly-situated passengers were exempted from heavier-handed measures. Within the realm of mandatory social distancing powers, CDC’s discordant approach to instituting quarantines forewarns its handling of additional persons exposed to Ebola and other dangerous, infectious diseases at home and abroad.
|