U.S. States’ Policies For Isolating Ebola Workers Vary; MSF Says Some Policies ‘Chilling’ Its Work In West Africa

News outlets report on U.S. states’ various isolation policies for Ebola workers returned from West Africa, and MSF’s comments on how some policies are impacting its workforce.

New York Times: From Governors, a Mix of Hard-Line Acts and Conciliation Over Ebola
“…As more doctors and nurses return from Ebola-stricken countries in West Africa, public anxiety has soared about the potential for contagion — even though only one person in the United States has died from the virus, and several have recovered or returned from West Africa and never shown symptoms. In response, governors of both parties are struggling to define public health policies on the virus, leaving a confusing patchwork of rules regarding monitoring, restricting, and quarantining health care workers who have treated Ebola patients, whether domestically or abroad…” (Bidgood/Zernike, 10/30).

Reuters: U.S. quarantines ‘chilling’ Ebola fight in West Africa: MSF
“Mandatory quarantines ordered by some U.S. states for doctors and nurses returning from West Africa’s Ebola outbreak are creating a ‘chilling effect’ on aid work there, the humanitarian aid group Doctors Without Borders said on Thursday…” (Allen, 10/30).

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