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With all the current concern about Ebola, it is important to understand what are quarantine and isolation and who can order these.
Per the Centers for Disease Control:
- Quarantine: separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.
- Isolation: separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick
Federal Law allows for quarantine and isolation:
- From the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution
- Delegated to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
- The CDC is "authorized to detain, medically examine, and release persons arriving into the United States and traveling between states who are suspected of carrying these communicable diseases."
- The CDC may issue a federal isolation or quarantine order
- Last large scale use was during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919
- Breaking of a federal quarantine order is punishable by fines and imprisonment
State laws allows for the enforcement of isolation and quarantine within their borders.
Bottom Line:
- There have been no large-scale quarantine or isolation orders for 100 years. However, the CDC can issue an order that has the authority of the Constitution and federal law for enforcement.
References
http://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/aboutlawsregulationsquarantineisolation.html