Sacramento Bee Logo

New California Ebola guidelines require quarantine for some travelers | The Sacramento Bee

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • SacBee Rewards
    • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Apps
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube
    • News in Education (NIE)
  • Newsletters

    • Sacramento Region
    • Arena
    • City Beat
    • Crime
    • Local Govt Salary Database
    • The Homeless
    • Marcos Bretón
    • Transportation
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health & Medicine
    • Traffic Conditions
    • Weather
    • Communities
    • Elk Grove
    • Folsom/El Dorado
    • Roseville/Placer
    • Yolo
    • Sports
    • Kings
    • NBA News
    • 49ers
    • Giants
    • Oakland A's
    • High School Sports
    • Joe Davidson
    • More Sports
    • Raiders
    • NFL News
    • MLB News
    • River Cats
    • Soccer
    • Colleges
    • Golf
    • Autos Racing
    • Politics
    • Capitol Alert
    • State Workers
    • The California Influencer Series
    • Local Elections
    • PoliGRAPH
    • State Worker Salary Database
    • Legislative Gifts
    • Local Elections
    • California Elections
    • Election Endorsements
    • Election 2018
    • Voter Guide
    • Investigations
    • Data Tracker
    • Public Eye
    • Afghan Refugees
    • Nursing Homes
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Election Endorsements
    • Viewpoints
    • Influencers Opinion
    • California Forum
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Submit a Letter
    • Jack Ohman
    • Editorial Board
    • Entertainment & Life
    • Arts & Theater
    • Books
    • Home & Garden
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Outdoors
    • Pets
    • Travel
    • More Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Horoscopes
    • Comics
    • Puzzles
    • TV Listings
    • Sacbee Rewards
    • Food & Drink
    • Restaurants News & Reviews
    • Restaurant Directory
    • Cooking & Recipes
    • Beer
    • Wine
    • Appetizers Blog
    • California
    • Big Valley
    • Marijuana
    • Wildfires
    • Water & Drought
    • Lottery
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Market Summary
    • Cathie Anderson
    • Nation & World
    • National
    • World
    • Technology
    • Family
    • Celebrities
    • TV news
    • Weird News
    • Video Break
    • News Obituaries
    • Death Notices
    • FAQ
    • ObitMessenger
    • In Memoriam

    • The Sacramento Bee Store
    • Golf Card
    • Farm to Fork Dining Card
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
  • Legal Notices
  • Place an Ad
  • Advertise
  • Mobile & Apps

Health & Medicine

New California Ebola guidelines require quarantine for some travelers

By Sammy Caiola

scaiola@sacbee.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

October 29, 2014 01:42 PM

Just two days after the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended a 21-day isolation period for travelers at the highest risk of Ebola, the California Department of Public Health has issued its own quarantine order, one of a handful of states to do so.

The order, released Wednesday by department Director Dr. Ron Chapman, says any person arriving in California from an Ebola-affected country who had contact with an Ebola-infected person will be quarantined for 21 days. This policy, like the ones issued by New York and New Jersey, appears to be stricter than that issued by the CDC on Monday, which only applies to people deemed “high-risk” because they were caring for an infected person without proper protective clothing or were exposed to the virus through needle-stick or injury.

Ebola-affected areas, as defined by the CDC, currently include Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Travelers returning from those countries who did not come into contact with someone with a confirmed case of Ebola will not be subject to quarantine, according to the state order. There have been no confirmed cases of Ebola in California.

The location and limitations of California’s quarantine will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the state and county health departments, but can include isolation at home and daily health monitoring, with allowances for greater movement for those deemed to be at lower risk, according to a press release from the Public Health Department. Depending on initial symptoms and risk level, the state Public Health Department and CDC may recommend moving the person to a health care facility.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Sacramento Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

“Not everyone who has been to an Ebola-affected area should be considered high risk,” Chapman said in the release. “This order will allow local health officers to determine, for those coming into California, who is most at risk for developing this disease, and to contain any potential spread of infectious disease by responding to those risks appropriately.”

Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie, of New York and New Jersey, respectively, initially mandated quarantine last Friday of any exposed health care worker returning from the region, whether symptomatic or not.

The policy prompted a backlash from the White House and the United Nations after New Jersey authorities confined Kaci Hickox, a nurse who had recently treated Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, to a tent at the airport, despite her showing no symptoms. She called her treatment “inhumane.”

The governors of New York and New Jersey both loosened their guidelines Sunday and are now allowing residents who came into contact with the infected to be quarantined in their homes. Hickox was allowed to return home to Maine, where state officials say she must remain confined to her house. Hickox threatened Wednesday to go to court to challenge the state’s 21-day quarantine policy.

According to a recently released California guideline for local health officers, the CDC is monitoring travelers nationwide from the affected region at ports of entry. Those who have symptoms are referred to the CDC for further screening. Those who do not are released with a digital thermometer and fever and symptom log.

The CDC will provide daily lists to the state public health department of all travelers screened whose final destination is California. The department will send those lists on the same day to local health departments at that traveler’s specific destination. County officials will then assess level of risk by interviewing the returning traveler with a newly developed form issued by the Public Health Department. It recommends that traveler interviews and daily symptom checks be conducted via telephone or other electronic means to minimize potential risk.

Sacramento County Department of Public Health has not quarantined anyone yet, but last week was monitoring two individuals who recently returned from West Africa. Those individuals were considered “low risk” and had been reporting their temperatures to the county daily.

“If there is someone who fits those categories, we would follow the (quarantine) guidelines,” said county spokeswoman Laura McCasland.

In California, local officials have the authority to quarantine individuals who may have infectious diseases that threaten public health. The new quarantine order aims to ensure consistent application of that authority throughout the state, according to the release.

The Public Health Department acknowledges that California is home to many health care workers who will be subject to this quarantine.

“They will be treated with respect and dignity when they come home as these important public health actions are taken,” Chapman said. “We value those who volunteer to help those in need, and appreciate their willingness to serve.”

Dr. Hernando Garzon, a Kaiser Permanente emergency department physician, is serving with the International Medical Corps in Sierra Leone and expects to return to the U.S. on Nov. 9. Under the new state guidelines, the doctor will likely be put under some form of quarantine in his Davis home, though he said before leaving that he believed his chances of contracting the virus were low.

“There are extensive WHO and CDC guidelines and protocols and procedures about how to operate safely,” he said. “All health care workers are at this point are quite vigilant ... the adherence has increased over time as more health workers become infected.”

Call The Bee’s Sammy Caiola, (916) 321-1636.

  Comments  

Videos

‘His skin temperature was like 104.’ Son describes dad’s death from heat exposure in care home

How to tell if you’re in an abusive relationship

View More Video

Trending Stories

Raiders mock drafts: Focus remains on defense, except for one ‘electric’ prospect

February 17, 2019 10:50 AM

49ers mock drafts: Still between two at No. 2, but one candidate is edging the other

February 17, 2019 10:48 AM

Authorities remove cougar from tree outside California home

February 17, 2019 12:56 PM

Did Colin Kaepernick beat the NFL? Some feel that’s the case, others aren’t so sure

February 17, 2019 11:45 AM

What the NBA did to bid a fond farewell to Wade and Nowitzki at All-Star Game

February 17, 2019 09:34 PM

Read Next

Oroville Hospital gets funds for 5-story medical tower, expects to add 700 jobs

Health & Medicine

Oroville Hospital gets funds for 5-story medical tower, expects to add 700 jobs

By Cathie Anderson

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 14, 2019 06:53 PM

Oroville Hospital Chief Executive Robert Wentz said Thursday that he expects to add roughly 700 new jobs at the independent Northern California hospital when construction is complete on a new five-story medical tower in 2022.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Sacramento Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE HEALTH & MEDICINE

Newsom calls on former California First Lady Maria Shriver to lead Alzheimer’s task force

Capitol Alert

Newsom calls on former California First Lady Maria Shriver to lead Alzheimer’s task force

February 12, 2019 12:21 PM
Left on patio in wheelchair, retired Marine died of heat stroke at Roseville care facility, lawsuit says

Health & Medicine

Left on patio in wheelchair, retired Marine died of heat stroke at Roseville care facility, lawsuit says

February 10, 2019 03:00 AM
Surgical team left sponge in patient, who later died. Redding hospital faces state fine

Health & Medicine

Surgical team left sponge in patient, who later died. Redding hospital faces state fine

February 08, 2019 03:30 AM
Sutter-Anthem contract dispute means 20,000 patients must find new doctors

Health & Medicine

Sutter-Anthem contract dispute means 20,000 patients must find new doctors

February 06, 2019 03:30 AM
Why fixing a common defect in preemies no longer requires cutting open tiny chests

Health & Medicine

Why fixing a common defect in preemies no longer requires cutting open tiny chests

February 05, 2019 03:30 AM
Measles outbreak may spread to California from other states, doctors are warned

Health & Medicine

Measles outbreak may spread to California from other states, doctors are warned

February 04, 2019 03:30 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

The Sacramento Bee App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Photo Store
Advertising
  • Place a Classified Ad
  • Place a Legal Notice
  • Place a Digital Ad
  • Place a Newspaper Ad
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Corrections Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story