Americans overwhelmingly support protocols that subject healthcare workers who have been exposed to the Ebola virus to quarantine, according to a recent Rasmussen Reports poll.
The survey, which analyzed responses from 1,000 voters between Oct. 27 and 28, indicated voters believe states should be able to set their own guidelines to prevent the spread of Ebola if they feel the federal government isn't doing enough.
According to the poll, 70 percent of U.S. voters favor quarantining all health workers who return to the country after having contact with Ebola patients in West Africa for up to 21 days.
Nineteen percent of voters oppose quarantining these individuals for the 21-day period the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say will determine whether or not they have the virus, and 11 percent are not sure.
A recent CBS News poll reported similar findings. This poll was conducted Oct. 23 through 27 among 1,269 adults across the nation.
Eighty percent of voters think U.S. citizens and legal residents returning from West Africa should be quarantined upon their arrival in the U.S. until it is certain they do not have Ebola. Seventeen percent think these people returning to the U.S. should be allowed to enter as long as they do not show any symptoms.
According to the CBS poll, Americans have even more rigorous attitudes about quarantine guidelines when it comes to foreign visitors from West Africa. Only 14 percent think foreign visitors should be allowed to enter the U.S. as long as they aren't showing symptoms. The majority of voters, 56 percent, think visitors should be quarantined upon arrival, while 27 percent don't think they should be allowed to enter the U.S. at all until the epidemic in West Africa is over.
Sixty-one percent of voters expressed at least some concern that there will be a large Ebola outbreak in the U.S. within the next year, though the percentage of Americans who are very concerned has dropped from 40 percent in the beginning of October to 32 percent now.