On Friday, the Governors of New York and New Jersey placed a mandatory quarantine on healthcare professionals returning from countries where Ebola is running rampant and now Illinois joins them with its own quarantine order.
On Friday, October 24, in a joint statement, the Governors of New Jersey and New York announced that any healthcare professionals returning from taking care of patients with Ebola in the several West African countries where the virus is wrecking havoc will be required to endure a 21-day quarantine before being cleared to go to their homes, according to NBC News.
It was a move that authorities at Obama’s Centers for Disease Control said was “a real stunner.”
Sources inside the CDC criticized the mandatory quarantine saying it could lead to healthcare professionals deciding not to go to Africa to help in the still growing Ebola crisis.
Now the state of Illinois, home to O’Hare airport, one of the world’s biggest international airports, is joining the two eastern states with its own quarantine orders.
Also on Friday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed an order mandating that all healthcare professionals who have been involved in caring for Ebola patients undergo a mandatory 21-day quarantine.
“This protective measure is too important to be voluntary,” Democrat Governor Quinn said. “While we have no confirmed cases of the Ebola virus in Illinois, we will continue to take every safeguard necessary to protect first responders, health care workers and the people of Illinois.”
Quinn’s order stated that local health departments throughout Illinois will be responsible for implementation and arranging for facilities to be available for quarantine zones.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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