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Douglas County joins others in state with isolation and quarantine policy
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Story posted Friday at 11:38 a.m. 11/27/2009 |
Wisconsin counties have a little-known policy that allows forced isolation or quarantine of people using armed law enforcement and deputized civilians. Mike Simonson reports from Superior.
This is to help health officials in a worst-case scenario to contain outbreaks.
Wisconsin statute requires each county to have an isolation and quarantine procedure. The order originated with the Centers for Disease Control from anthrax threats in 2001. But the policy is broader. It includes isolating people infected or even suspected of being infected with a contagious disease such as tuberculosis or in a flu pandemic.
Douglas County Health Officer Deb Clasen says every county health officer in the state can now order that guards be put on infectious people.
"So you put law enforcement by the door to assist with containing and preventing people from exposing other individuals."
Clasen is quick to say this is only used if voluntary approaches don't work or are ineffective. Washburn County Sheriff Terry Dryden says this is a tool that may be needed at flu vaccination clinics as well.
"The potential is there for emotion. I want my child or we need the vaccine before anyone else type thing where you could get a little volatile in those areas. I don't expect any of those kinds of problems. We're not going to have SWAT teams surround the nurses giving the vaccine."
The policy also has provisions for a large quarantine facility with restricted public access. Jason Shrader is the director of the Western Region Partnership for Public Health Preparedness in Balsam Lake. He understands the hesitancy to use the "Q" word.
"Although we plan for the worst case scenario, it's not valuable for a health department to have a policy that looks at end of the world-type scenarios."
The plans do give people held in forced isolation or quarantine due process to appeal.
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