Last week, New York and New Jersey implemented mandatory quarantines for healthcare workers returning from West Africa. New York has since redacted the mandatory quarantine after receiving pressure and criticism from federal agencies and the public, opting for mandatory home quarantines instead. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he will keep his state's mandatory quarantine policies in place.
Other states have also implemented slightly nuanced quarantine precautions, though they, too, mostly center on home quarantines. For example, Illinois announced a mandatory home quarantine for "high-risk" individuals, including daily checkups. Connecticut will implement a mandatory monitoring for people returning from West Africa, with quarantine being considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidelines for workers returning from West Africa, which are notably less strict than those of the states. The CDC's recommendation breaks down risk circles of returning workers and modifies precautions based on their levels of risk.
Here, healthcare professionals offer their thoughts on whether Ebola quarantines should be mandatory.
Note: This list will continuously be updated as we receive more thoughts and opinions from healthcare professionals.
"I absolutely support quarantine for anyone returning from West Africa, especially healthcare workers. The greatest risk we have is in tracking contacts after a diagnosis has been made to ensure those people are closely monitored. If we were to quarantine healthcare workers returning from West Africa, we stand a better chance at stopping the potential for an outbreak immediately." — Randi Want, RN, infection control nurse, Mille Lacs Health System (Onamia, Minn.)
"Absolutely. As a health care worker, that should be self-imposed without a second thought. I would quarantine myself from my family as well until the danger had passed. As I remember, our first mandate is "First, do no harm!" What is a few weeks in the overall scheme of a lifetime?" — Sylvia Folkins, RN, Rockwood Eye Surgery Center (Spokane, Wash.)
"I am opposed. I just returned from a month in Sierra Leone. I did not get quarantined in Newark, but that was a fear. Two from my group changed their tickets to arrive in Dulles to eliminate the chance of getting caught in this election period fiasco. Science tells us that Ebola is not contagious until symptoms appear, and then for direct contact with blood and other body fluids. As healthcare workers, we went to West Africa to help people. Why on earth would anybody think that we would not monitor ourselves to also protect the health of our own country?" — Thomas Button, RN, corporate director of infection prevention and control, Truman Medical Centers (Kansas City, Mo.)
"This is a public safety issue. If folks want to volunteer to work out of the country, that is wonderful. But if they come into contact with the Ebola virus, they need to be quarantined for the two month time frame. Granted, they are not being paid for their time during this time frame, but they cannot endanger the rest of the public just because they want to get back to living their life in the [United] States." — Mary Ellen Head, RN, specialty coordinator ophthalmology, Indiana University Health Springmill (Indianapolis)
"I absolutely do! Obviously we have not erred on the better side of judgment thus far and have ended up with unnecessary potential transmission of the disease to many innocent and unsuspecting people. There is a turning point that is hard to identify when the incubation period turns into full-out disease and the infected person in unknowingly exposing countless people to the Ebola virus, as the [physician] in New York did. He is a trained medical professional and still exhibited reckless behavior. We cannot be lulled into a false sense of security because we feel 'we are not in the infectious stage.' This does not mean that we should exhibit rude or shoddy treatment of these people, especially the humanitarian heroes. It does mean that we should keep the people in THIS country safe and prevent potential cases due to lack of vigilance." — Anna Kalafut, RN, MSN, clinican education specialist (Pittsburgh)
"I wholeheartedly support the quarantine of healthcare workers that are returning from the Ebola-stricken countries until the incubation period has passed. The media and others need to stop portraying the quarantine in a way that suggests that the healthcare worker is being punished for their service. Instead, they should focus on the aspect that we do not want this disease ravaging our country, and we are willing to abide by a short term quarantine to support the health of our country. There should be a focus on how the healthcare workers are selfless individuals who have been, and continue to be, only interested in the health and welfare of those surrounding them." — Mary Shelton, RN, MSN, clinical educator of nursing, St. Louis University Hospital
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