Mass Quarantine in the US: How Will It Work?

Nurse Kaci Hickox was 'made to feel like criminal' and kept prisoner. She was detained at Newark airport with no explanation, questioned for 3 hours, then kept in isolation at the airport terminal for another 4 hours and given only a cereal bar to eat. Then she was "quarantined." She did NOT have a fever. This is NOT OKAY. What happened, the way it happened, is JUST WRONG.

Think ahead folks. God forbid Ebola comes to America. But if it does, and policy is set by fear, in fear, this is what will happen to YOU. Your children. Your family. Your friends.

Please, search ATS' archives for past discussions on FEMA and mass quarantine. Talk about nightmares getting real.

A nurse put into isolation on her return from treating patients in Sierra Leone expressed anger at the way she was dealt with at Newark airport.

Kaci Hickox, of medical charity Doctors Without Borders, said the experience was frightening, and described seeing a "frenzy of disorganisation, fear and most frightening, quarantine".

She said she was kept in isolation at the airport terminal for seven hours and given only a cereal bar to eat.

….Hickox is a nurse who had been working with Doctors Without Borders in Sierra Leone. Officials said she was taken to a hospital after developing a fever, but Hickox said she was merely flushed because she was upset by the process.

…."Coercive measures like mandatory quarantine of people exhibiting no symptoms of Ebola and when not medically necessary raise serious constitutional concerns about the state abusing its powers," said Udi Ofer, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey.

Doctors Without Borders said Hickox has not been issued an order of quarantine specifying how long she must be isolated and is being kept in an unheated tent. It urged the "fair and reasonable treatment" of health workers fighting the Ebola outbreak.

Ebola nurse 'made to feel like criminal' on return to US
Kaci Hickox tests negative but stays in New Jersey isolation
ACLU raises concerns over ‘abuse of police powers’

….Hickox, a volunteer nurse with Doctors Without Borders, was stopped at Newark airport in New Jersey, where she told an immigration official she had travelled from Sierra Leone. She endured several hours of questioning from officials wearing protective coveralls, gloves, masks and face shields. Her temperature was taken, and registered 98F. Then, she said, her temperature was taken a second time.

“Four hours after I landed at the airport, an official approached me with a forehead scanner. My cheeks were flushed, I was upset at being held with no explanation. The scanner recorded my temperature as 101,” she wrote.

Hickox said she was left alone in a room for another three hours before being taken to the hospital, where her temperature was again recorded. This time it was 98.6F.

“I sat alone in the isolation tent and thought of many colleagues who will return home to America and face the same ordeal,” she wrote. “Will they be made to feel like criminals and prisoners?”

….Doctors Without Borders, known internationally as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has warned against a mandatory quarantine on medics returning from Ebola-stricken countries, saying it would be an “excessive measure”.

….Guidelines set out by MSF state that returning medics should stay within four hours of a hospital with isolation facilities, but do not require that they avoid crowds so long as they do not display symptoms.

“As long as a returned staff member does not experience any symptoms, normal life can proceed,” the organisation says. “Family, friends, and neighbors can be assured that a returned staff person who does not present symptoms is not contagious and does not put them at risk. Self-quarantine is neither warranted nor recommended when a person is not displaying Ebola-like symptoms.”

….De Blasio told the same press conference that American medical professionals helping to tackle the outbreak in west Africa “are the people who will end this crisis”. He said: “We have to make sure that that flow of medical personnel can continue.”

…. the CDC had tightened its monitoring requirements for those arriving in the US from the three west African countries hardest hit by the outbreak. The new monitoring system goes into effect on Monday in six states – New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Georgia – and will eventually be expanded across the country.

The new (CDC) guidelines will require anyone who flies from Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea ­– regardless of whether they are exhibiting symptoms – to check in daily with state and local health officials. They will be required to report their temperatures and the any appearance of Ebola-like symptoms, such as severe headaches, fatigue and diarrhoea. They will also be required to consult with health officials if they need, or want, to travel.

a reply to: soficrow

So you are outraged that someone was temporarily quarantined against her will, while others are outraged that Eric Duncan and a couple of nurses were not quarantined against their will. Nothing like an epidemic to help people think clearly....

originally posted by: DJW001
a reply to: soficrow

So you are outraged that someone was temporarily quarantined against her will, while others are outraged that Eric Duncan and a couple of nurses were not quarantined against their will. Nothing like an epidemic to help people think clearly....

Not at all. I am outraged at the way the isolation and quarantine were implemented - and originally supported the policy. Now I'm backtracking and looking ahead at the same time.

Hope that clears things up.

"Checking in", self motoring, and self quarantine have been proven not to work.

People are going to do what they want, regardless.

The good doctor who claims to have not know he was infected should have either known or erred on the side of safety and hunkered down. They say he was taking his temperature, surely he had some idea he could be exposed. But he still goes for train rides in a major city.

I don't understand that kind of mentality. Is it arrogance, entitlement, better than? If peoplecan't be trusted to keep from riding planes, taking cruises or "going bowling" for chrissakes, then they should be locked up for long enough to declare them Ebola free.

Sorry about that. You spent time in Ebolaville and you say you were in close proximity to infected people. Pay the small price of making sure millions of others don't suffer from your ignorance.

21 days, BFD.

FEMA camps a reply to: soficrow

Well since it seems to be that most of these healthcare workers dont have the greatest respect for others like the doctor that treated ebola victims then comes back to the US and freely roams around NY with out a concern in the world putting thousands at risk, or the nurse that flies to Cleveland and back to Dallas with a fever, tells me that something had to be done to force the situation. I am not for a police state, however, this is why government ends up stepping in cause the masses are idiots.

I think that there should be a 21 day quarantine period for returning health care workers.

But, lets make it like a club med so it's actually a 21 day vacation with all the amenities as a reward for their work as well as protection for the rest of the country

originally posted by: Wildbob77
I think that there should be a 21 day quarantine period for returning health care workers.

But, lets make it like a club med so it's actually a 21 day vacation with all the amenities as a reward for their work as well as protection for the rest of the country

Quarantine for 21 days in a safe-house with a sunny garden and swimming pool for 30 days prior to departure. That would be the most practical.

originally posted by: intrptr
"Checking in", self motoring, and self quarantine have been proven not to work.

People are going to do what they want, regardless.

The good doctor who claims to have not know he was infected should have either known or erred on the side of safety and hunkered down. They say he was taking his temperature, surely he had some idea he could be exposed. But he still goes for train rides in a major city.

I think people are going into denial, just like when someone is told they have a terminal illness. The difference is that ebola kills fast and can be spread to others.
No one wants to acknowledge they have ebola and denial is a powerful thing.
The fact that health care workers who should know better are putting others at risk leads me to believe that they're just trying to convince themselves that nothing is wrong.

I guess the newly appointed ebola czar is supposed to set up a standard protocol...
currently there is a vast variety of treating disease carriers into the USA...

ᴓbama just packs a dozen or so sick illegals off to a city and there are thousands of cities that are being contaminated with diseased carriers of all sorts of south American pools of infectious diseases in the squalor villages down there

the ranks of certified medical personnel are just being singled out...for what reason or purpose--- who knows?


I have an idea that the new ebola czar will institute some sort of mandatory procedure which requires all health workers, nurses/aides/doctors will be forced to inhale "vaccines"...then it will be forced on all the population --- the enclaves of illegals will be the holdouts but the actual citizens will just like up like sheep




"JessicaRabbitTx" said:

'

...The fact that health care workers who should know better are putting others at risk leads me to believe that they're just trying to convince themselves that nothing is wrong.

"



My viewpoint is that the health care workers are of the mind that they have observed all the protective measures required...
The real fact is that their superior authorities do not really know that a very virulent and contagious 'Weaponized" Ebola
is being covertly released...and their protective procedures are out-dated and insufficient

(that is probably on purpose, so the health care workers can spread ebola unawares that they are indeed carriers)

a reply to: JessicaRabbitTx

HI JessicaRabbitTx! Welcome to ATS!

No one wants to acknowledge they have ebola and denial is a powerful thing.

I agree. You know who is practicing the biggest denial? The airlines.

After seeing what all has gone on, why the outrage?

The reality is that they should have been doing mandatory quarantines all along, to protect the public and all of citizens. As sad as it is, the reality is that this should have been in place all along, ever since the first case, Duncan came out. And with the advent of air travel, maybe we should be a bit more cautious about incoming infectious agents.

a reply to: intrptr

Thanks! Ill do an intro in a bit. I've been lurking for years.

a reply to: soficrow

How will mass quarantine work? If ebola becomes rampant?

It wont work. It'll be a disaster because there aren't enough hospitals or doctors that can deal with ebola properly. FEMA camps? Yeah, good luck with that. You have the flue and a fever? Must be ebola, off to the FEMA camp with you.

I like the idea presented by a poster above to quarantine the doctors in a safe house before they come back.

A few months back, there was a POD (point of dispensing) drill near us. It was odd because I don't recall anything like that before. We've had the usual earthquake and tornado drills. The health department, law enforcement, rescue squad, hospital, everyone involved. My sister was visiting and went down "the wrong road" and commented on how rude the officer was that she was not supposed to be there and was really in the way basically.
So, fast forward to the Ebola situation or lack of situation.
If there was a quarantine in the U.S., people would have to go to work. I can work from home but, alot of folks can't. If they have no savings, what would they do? If our community "shut down" for 3 weeks or so, it would be unfathomable. Would they warn folks that this is coming or would we just "know" because of media, etc? Scary to think of.
Maybe it wouldn't happen just because of an Ebola outbreak. What if it wass the Flu?

Its a fine line we're walking here. We want to protect people's freedoms while we want to keep this horrific disease from spreading.

Do want to send doctors, American citizens to "FEMA camps"? No. Do we want to this modern day plague to spread? Heck no!!!

We need to weigh risks vs benefits.

I think if there is a facility in place that can meet the quarantined people's needs - we need to use it while giving as many freedoms as possible to the quarantined.

This is not what we want to do but what we NEED to do. It sucks. But having this spread to everyone is far, far worse.

a reply to: sdcigarpig

The "outrage" is that she was treated not much better than a common criminal. Everything should have been explained to her from the very beginning. She should have been made as comfortable as possible. At the very least, a full meal should have been brought to her when she said she was hungry. She should have been put somewhere other than a "tent" - a comfortable room with a tv, maybe a bed so she could lay down if she was tired. Any personal belongings that may have made her more comfortable should have been offered to her.

I am not totally against a quarantine, but I AM against harsh treatment for one of our own citizens who has made a selfless decision to go to a very dangerous place to offer help.

Did anybody see Matt Drudge's tweet...."self quarantine" ? Happened a few days back on Oct. 15th , I think. I'm afraid that doctors without borders from W. Africa need some borders upon returning to the U.S. I propose a mandatory quarantine paid for by the agency they represent or by donations . We've seen a comedy of errors by the CDC and healthcare workers in general. Self-isolation and self-monitoring , obviously, aren't working. If this disease takes hold in America, our economy and health-care systems will collapse. Anyone leaving W. Africa and attempting to enter the U.S. must be quarantined !

originally posted by: Lil Drummerboy
Well since it seems to be that most of these healthcare workers dont have the greatest respect for others like the doctor that treated ebola victims then comes back to the US and freely roams around NY with out a concern in the world putting thousands at risk, or the nurse that flies to Cleveland and back to Dallas with a fever, tells me that something had to be done to force the situation. I am not for a police state, however, this is why government ends up stepping in cause the masses are idiots.

I think I heard Alex Jones say we could have more to fear from the government's reaction to Ebola than the disease itself. I agree except that this has the potential to become a full-blown pandemic around the world.

Dr. Spencer should have been in quarantine prior to leaving Africa, then again after landing in the states.

Better yet, a total travel ban to/from Africa would be in order. It would be more fool-proof than those temperature checks that failed to work.

I'm for mandatory quarantines in this case. Sorry, but I think the dear nurse should have expected this. If she was treated roughly by those at the airport she should talk with an attorney. After her quarantine, of course.

a reply to: conspiracytheoristIAM

Nope - shouldn't be paid for by the agency. It should be paid for by us. We are the ones who want them quarantined. It is for our benefit that we quarantine them. We should pay for it - our tax dollars.