States Ebola Quarantines

[PrincessFiona]

So the states are stepping in and are doing what the federal government has refused to do .... issue quarantines for health workers who have been in West Africa helping with the Ebola effort.

What say you?

Personally, I see it as a big F U to a government that refuses to do the right thing. Absolutely there should be a 21 day quarantine if you just left W. Africa, were treating Ebola, and are now home on US soil. Will that discourage some from helping? I don't know...but p public safety should come first. Personally, if I was a health worker and came home from W. Africa, I would welcome the 21 day quarantine as a way to keep the public self. I find it selfish to go about your business potentially creating a problem for others.

I have a feeling I'm the only one who feels this way.

Kris

[Pollyanna]

I completely agree with you Kris.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I completely disagree. It is horrifying that the world has ignored the unbelievable humanitarian crisis in W Africa. I have been to similar hospitals as those caring for the Ebola victims, they are quite literally hell on earth. My heart literally breaks for mama who have sick children and only those options.

If we do a mandatory quarantine, no health care workers from the US will be able to go help. No one can take an extra 3 weeks off. And you can be sure that Europe will follow suit. MSF (doctors without borders) has successfully treated these outbreaks before without losing massive numbers of health workers or quarantines of this sort.

In my opinion, preventing workers from caring for "the least of these" (those most in need) would be very selfish. There are documented ways to do this safely and I think it should be encouraged as much as possible.

There's a reason that this has not been fatal for all but ONE person in the US and that's because we have standards of care to treat this. Even if some healthcare workers end up sick, we have demonstrated that we can treat this and prevent spread - you notice no more nurses have gotten sick from treating the original case nor several other cases around the country.

[spotty_dog]

Is there any evidence that this measure will help protect the public health, or is it only a feel-good measure for politicians to show they are doing something "for the people"?

http://www.dallasnews.com/ebola/head...quarantine.ece

[Sheherezade]

I agree with you T and S. It seems like a slap in the face to people that are trying to stop the bleeding at the source.

I think it's all political posturing at the state level. When Kasich did it here, I said "He's running for president." It's a show of being in charge, but it doesn't really have any grounds scientifically vs self monitoring and going in when you have a symptom.

I think it's pretty clear from everything we've seen that you are only infectious when you hit the "bag of virus" phase of the disease at the end - and then you are highly infectious. Early on, they can't even find enough virus to register on PCR test.


Angie

[corn poffi]

I completely disagree. It is horrifying that the world has ignored the unbelievable humanitarian crisis in W Africa. I have been to similar hospitals as those caring for the Ebola victims, they are quite literally hell on earth. My heart literally breaks for mama who have sick children and only those options.

If we do a mandatory quarantine, no health care workers from the US will be able to go help. No one can take an extra 3 weeks off. And you can be sure that Europe will follow suit. MSF (doctors without borders) has successfully treated these outbreaks before without losing massive numbers of health workers or quarantines of this sort.

In my opinion, preventing workers from caring for "the least of these" (those most in need) would be very selfish. There are documented ways to do this safely and I think it should be encouraged as much as possible.

There's a reason that this has not been fatal for all but ONE person in the US and that's because we have standards of care to treat this. Even if some healthcare workers end up sick, we have demonstrated that we can treat this and prevent spread - you notice no more nurses have gotten sick from treating the original case nor several other cases around the country.

Wonderfully said. I agree, 100%.

[SoonerTexan]

I'm with T&S

A weird result of all this is I am less afraid of Ebola than I was before I knew more about it.

I'm still horrified at the skewering of the Dallas patient. That poor man

[corn poffi]

I made the mistake of reading the comments on that article. Ugh. Faith in humanity is 100% gone.

[SoonerTexan]

Also apparently all of the belongings of the fiancée of the original Ebola patient here were incinerated. Even her TV. Really??? So the government gets to just come in and literally burn all your belongings with no plans to replace them? I'm disgusted

[MrsC]

http://nbcnews.to/1nOocV9

This is nuts. I feel so bad for her. How can they legally enforce a quarantine?

[scarlett09]

I think she's being a selfish bitch. Yes the NJ quarantine was unwarranted and probably not based on fact (seems like she didn't really have a fever). But come on, isn't it better to be in quarantine in your pajamas, relaxing on a comfy couch, and watching copious amounts of Netflix? This is what can happen if you go abroad to take care of sick people in developing countries. So just go hunker down in that Maine apartment, take the quarantine like an adult, and STFU.


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[TulipsAndSunscreen]

States Ebola Quarantines

Seriously? It's ok to lock someone up who is NOT sick just for going abroad. That is INSANE.

Should they lock up everyone who might have the flu, too? Cause that's way more deadly and likely to hurt people in the U.S.

She can't earn a living, see friends or family, or do anything she might have had planned.

[bokelley]

Seriously? It's ok to lock someone up who is NOT sick just for going abroad. That is INSANE.

Should they lock up everyone who might have the flu, too? Cause that's way more deadly and likely to hurt people in the U.S.

She can't earn a living, see friends or family, or do anything she might have had planned.

I'm with Ya. This is insanity.

[scarlett09]

Seriously? It's ok to lock someone up who is NOT sick just for going abroad. That is INSANE.

Should they lock up everyone who might have the flu, too? Cause that's way more deadly and likely to hurt people in the U.S.

She can't earn a living, see friends or family, or do anything she might have had planned.

I agree but the die has already been cast for her. Even if it was wrong - she never had a temp, this is her situation right now and no one at any level of government is going to want to cave into her. There is too much fear mongering in the media and a lot of stupid people out there. Medically, I truly think she should be let go. But there are too many uneducated people out there who don't understand the transmission of the disease and would never leave her or their government alone if they didn't quarantine her. I also believe that self-reporting would be sufficient in her case, but again, she is making herself out to be uncooperative, so she's not going to get that option.

And yes, on my island, everyone with the flu would be locked up. As someone who lives with a ped and is about to have a preemie, flu = evil. But IRL, no I don't support that. What I do support is paid sick time so people can stay home when they have it and not lose their jobs and not give the flu to everyone and their brother. I wonder if this country mandated paid sick time for all if the spread of particular illnesses would decrease.


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[medpedspouse]

Should they lock up everyone who might have the flu, too? Cause that's way more deadly and likely to hurt people in the U.S.
.

WORD!!!!

I send sick employees home. I don't play the infect everyone game because you think you are soooo valuable and gotta be here. Nope, if you got snot, diarrhea or vomit, etc. coming out of you....you gots to go. I can deal with one down...I can't have several sick at one time. I have also been known to put masks on snotty/couging students. They are not coming into my world and bringing whatever crap they picked up from their kids, rounds, etc. and making the standardized patients sick.