Ebola- Quarantine/Quasi quarantine Yes or No?

Julie Reyes, DNP, RN · Oct 28, 2014

The news has been broadcasting the dispute of quarantining a nurse who was a volunteer taking care of ebola patients. Just last week, people were voicing concerns that all people who returned from there needed to be quarantined, and now people are mad because someone who did not display symptoms WAS quarantined.

For me, if I were a volunteer, I know I would self-quarantine to make sure...Double sure!

What are your thoughts on the subject?

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Oct 28, 2014

volunteer or not, if she tested positive that is reason enough to be quarantined.

llg, PhD, RN · Oct 28, 2014

volunteer or not, if she tested positive that is reason enough to be quarantined.

That's just it. She didn't test positive. She had no symptoms. The skin temp machine read a little high at the airport which could have been to her agitation and the environment. She requested an oral temp, but they wouldn't do it at the airport. When they finally did do an oral temp (at the tent -- or wherever)... her temp was normal. So ... she had no positive tests and she had no symptoms.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Oct 28, 2014

Gee, we're so close to Halloween.....seems only appropriate that we have a National Witch Hunt starting....!

roser13, ASN, RN · Oct 28, 2014

Gov. Christie's first mistake was in messing with a nurse. He clearly was under-informed or mis-informed about the risks that an asymptomatic healthcare worker poses.

OR, he just wanted attention (of any kind) in an election year.

tyvin, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2014

You know what...if you're going to volunteer to go to a country that has the deadliest virus on the planet; you should absolutely be quarantined when you get back for 21 days. I would expect that the volunteers would do this willingly and I'm shocked about the response of boo hoo, not me for Christ's sake...how dare you take 21 days of my life to ensure that this virus does not spread! :banghead:

This is deadly and people are crying over 21 days. Don't people get it yet, it's unpredictable and mutating as we speak. Take no chances. I don't know what's happened to people, but it's scary IMO. Symptoms or not, they should be quarantined! It's called common sense.

Loo17 · Oct 29, 2014

A quarantine is one thing but let the person do it in their own home or somewhere more accommodating than a tent with a bucket to pee in.

FLAlleycat · Oct 29, 2014

Personally, I feel mandatory quarantine of healthcare providers returning from W Africa is outrageous. Per CNN, over 150 people arrive from W Africa daily, and we're only going to quarantine the returning healthcare providers? Those are the ones who know what to look out for! How about the healthcare providers in Emory and other hospitals? There were even some people quarantined in Connecticut who returned from W Africa and who did not even work near Ebola patients. One still has a guard outside his door. Really? Duncan lived with several family members for days with symptoms, and none of them became infected. Again, personally, I feel healthcare providers are perfectly capable of monitoring themselves and reporting to a hospital (they would probably even call before going there!) if they developed symptoms. The fact that a doctor returned, felt fine except for achy muscles and traveled around NYC was the answer to Christie's campaign dream. Nevermind that the self monitoring actually worked. I hope this turns into Christie's nightmare! To grab this nurse at the airport and throw her into a tent in the cold parking lot with a port-a-potty and paper gown is disgraceful. If such quarantines in any way do inhibit doctors and nurses from going to W Africa to help try to control this disease, they need to stop because, as we all know, there will be no control of Ebola until it is controlled in W Africa.

macawake, MSN · Oct 29, 2014

Don't people get it yet, it's unpredictable and mutating as we speak. Take no chances.

If that’s what we’re going to use as a rationale for the decisions we make, instead of calmly evaluating the available empirical data and research…

…Then I propose that we extend the quarantine period to 127 and three quarter days… (however, 92.91 days will suffice for blondes or anyone who was born in the twelfth sign of the Zodiac (that would be Pisces))… It’s mutating as we speak…

Who really knows what the incubation period is…

(Said tongue-in-cheek, although I’m serious about the message itself).

Seriously, I get that this is a scary disease. I think it is too. That’s exactly why it’s more important than ever to remain calm, and let science and rational thinking guide us. Giving in to fear and basing decisions on it, will create many more problems than it will solve.

No available evidence exists that suggests that an asymptomatic person is infectious, therefore a quarantine is a bit like tilting at windmills.

If the idea that asymptomatic persons can be contagious takes hold (I obviously believe that this is a false belief), then every stranger on a bus, an airplane, in a restaurant can be perceived as a potential threat to a person’s health. While quarantine might seem like a good way to allay fears, I do believe that it might generate even more irrational fear.

roser13, ASN, RN · Oct 29, 2014

You know what...if you're going to volunteer to go to a country that has the deadliest virus on the planet; you should absolutely be quarantined when you get back for 21 days. I would expect that the volunteers would do this willingly and I'm shocked about the response of boo hoo, not me for Christ's sake...how dare you take 21 days of my life to ensure that this virus does not spread!
This is deadly and people are crying over 21 days. Don't people get it yet, it's unpredictable and mutating as we speak. Take no chances. I don't know what's happened to people, but it's scary IMO. Symptoms or not, they should be quarantined! It's called common sense.

How many Americans have contracted Ebola from casual contact with those who have been exposed? ZERO

How many Americans have been released, disease-free, from 21-day quarantines? ALL

Of the American nurses that contracted Ebola while caring for a patient, how many have recovered completely? ALL

Common sense tells ME that over-reaction is contagious and can cause otherwise sensible folks to lose their marbles. Ebola has been around for over 40 years. If it was going to mutate to casual contact, I'm thinking it would have done so by now.

FLAlleycat · Oct 29, 2014

I had to take a break from the Ebola threads on AN for a while as I was beginning to feel like Don Quixote . . . so much panic and hysteria and so little science and critical thinking. I am delighted to read more and more posts based on scientific evidence! THANK YOU!