U.S. Requires Mandatory Quarantine For Soldiers Exposed To Ebola In W. Africa
The White House blasted the leaderships of New York, New Jersey and Illinois over their Ebola quarantine policy on returning health workers from afflicted West African countries. It has issued a mandate requiring all returning soldiers from the same region to undergo the same procedure.
Just as in the case of Kaci Hickox, a nurse returning from Sierra Leone, the returning U.S. soldiers were likewise ordered to undergo the 21-day quarantine, despite the absence of symptoms of infection. But compared to Hickox, the soldiers aren't believed to have been exposed to the deadly virus.
In a statement, the Army said it was the chief of staff Gen. Ray Odierno who personally called for the order for all redeploying soldiers returning from Operation United Assistance. "He has done this out of caution to ensure soldiers, family members and their surrounding communities are confident that we are taking all steps necessary to protect their health."
The returning soldiers reportedly "kept" in separate buildings on American bases. They are not allowed to see their families, and vice versa, for 21 days.
Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, commander of U.S. Army forces in Africa, implied to CNN that the soldiers readily accepted the order, and despite the length of their isolation, they have no qualms about it. Speaking to CNN from inside his isolation unit by military video conference, he shared physical contact with the outside world is totally zero. A team of people leaves food for the soldiers in a room even before the latter enter it. All utensils are disposables, collected and immediately burned afterwards. The troops were ordered to self-monitor their own temperatures twice a day.
So as not to get bored, Williams said his team does physical fitness on the exercise equipment given to them. Plus phones and the Internet have been made available that the soldiers can access. He said he gets to talk to his family on Skype.
Because of his position, Williams said he had traveled extensively in Liberia. He shared the many times he visited Ebola testing areas. He shared he constantly washed his hands and even consciously maintained a three-foot distance from Ebola patients. There was a time when health care workers checked on his temperature eight times a day.
U.S. President Barack Obama had defended the mandatory quarantine for the soldiers, saying that compared with healthcare workers who go to Ebola hotzone as volunteers, the soldiers go there because it is part of their mission. "They are already by definition if they are in the military under more circumscribed conditions," Obama told reporters at the White House. "We don't expect to have similar rules for our military as we do for civilians."
Hickox earlier blasted the treatment she had received upon her arrival to the U.S. She said she felt like a criminal with the way she was treated.
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