Travelers returning to New York and New Jersey from West African nations will be put under mandatory quarantine orders if they may have had contact with Ebola patients, Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie announced Friday, The Associated Press reports.
The announcement follows the positive Ebola test that came back Thursday night for Dr. Craig Spencer, who recently had returned to New York City after a stint with Doctors Without Borders in Guinea.
At a press conference Thursday night it was revealed that Spencer had traveled on New York subways and visited restaurants and a bowling alley before falling ill, though patients are not contagious before they become symptomatic.
While the AP reported Gov. Cuomo as saying that controlling Ebola "was too serious a situation to leave it to the honor system of compliance," they also noted that Doctors Without Borders disagreed with the new policy.
" 'As long as a returned staff member does not experience any symptoms, normal life can proceed,' the organization said in a statement.
"Aid organizations also warned that many health care volunteers wouldn't go to Ebola hot zones if they knew they would be confined to their homes for three weeks after they got back."
The new policy also wasn't going over well with at least one returning medical worker.
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