The White House is pushing Governor Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to reverse their decision on new Ebola travel and quarantine rules, according to the New York Times.
It comes after criticism of the governors’ order that all medical workers who had contact with ebola patients in West Africa be quarantined on their return to area airports.
Kaci Hickox—the nurse who became the first person quarantined at Newark airport—says she was treated like a criminal there.
Writing in the Dallas Morning News, Hickox says she was questioned for several hours. She says she never really showed symptoms in the first place.
Hickox says when she arrived at the airport, no one would explain what was going on or what would happen to her.
The nurse had been working with Doctors Without Borders in Sierra Leone.
Officials say she was taken to the hospital after developing a fever, but she claims she was just flushed because she was upset.
Hickox tested negative for Ebola in a preliminary evaluation.
Newark University Hospital officials responded, saying in part that while they understand the required quarantine is an inconvenience, their goal is to make sure that patients are as comfortable as possible.
However, federal health officials are also questioning the move by the governors.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told Fox News Sunday that mandatory quarantines can actually hurt in the fight against the disease.
“There are other steps that you can protect American people based on the scientific evidence that does not necessarily have to go so far as to possibly have unintended consequences of disincentivizing health care workers. The best way to protect us is to stop the epidemic in Africa and we need those health care workers. So we do not want to put them in a position that makes it very, very uncomfortable for them to even volunteer to go,” Fauci said.
Christie maintains that the move is a matter of protecting people, while Cuomo says it’s both legal and enforceable.
Florida and Illinois are now following with similar policies.
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