Connecticut on Wednesday declared a public health emergency, with the governor clearing state health authorities to quarantine individuals or groups who may be suspected of exposure or infection from the Ebola virus.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy stressed Tuesday that his executive order is not in response to any known Ebola cases in this state. Rather, he said, the state must be prepared to coordinate an immediate response to any suspected exposures or outbreaks.
He said his order gives the commissioner of the Department of Public Health the ability to effectively quarantine an individual or a group of individuals who may have been exposed to or infected with the Ebola virus.
“We are taking this action today to ensure that we are prepared, in advance, to deal with any identified cases in which someone has been exposed to the virus or, worst case, infected,” Malloy said in a statement. “Our state’s hospitals have been preparing for it, and public health officials from the state are working around the clock to monitor the situation.”
“Right now,’’ he said, “we have no reason to think that anyone in the state is infected or at risk of infection. But it is essential to be prepared and we need to have the authorities in place that will allow us to move quickly to protect public health, if and when that becomes necessary. Signing this order will allow us to do that.”
