As fears about a possible spread of Ebola in the U.S. grow, officials in New York and New Jersey say they've ordered mandatory 21-day quarantines for doctors and medical workers returning from the West African countries hit by the outbreak who've had direct contact with any Ebola patients.
The announcement by the governors of the two states follows the diagnosis of Ebola in a New York City doctor after his return to the U.S. two weeks ago from one of those countries, Guinea.
Before doctor Craig Spencer began to experience symptoms and was isolated at Bellevue Hospital Center, he had made journeys by subway and cab, eaten in a coffee shop and restaurant and gone bowling, officials confirmed.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that knowledge led them to order guidelines stricter than those issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has called for voluntary quarantines.
"It's too serious a situation to leave it to the honor system of compliance," Cuomo said.
Illinois has subsequently joined New York and New Jersey in ordering a similar mandatory quarantine for anyone arriving at state airports has had been contact with Ebola sufferers.
Illinois Gob. Pat Quinn echoed Cuomo's statement.
"This protective measure is too important to be voluntary," Quinn said in a statement. "While we have no confirmed cases of the Ebola virus in Illinois, we will continue to take every safeguard necessary to protect first responders, health-care workers and the people of Illinois."
In New York City following his arrival back in the U.S. from Africa on Oct. 17, Spencer had followed U.S. and international protocols, taking his temperature daily and monitoring himself for symptoms, health officials said, but many are now saying he should have been quarantined during the 21-day incubation period of Ebola.
Spencer is in stable condition, doctors say, and meanwhile officials have mounted efforts to identify and locate anyone he may have been in close contact with.
He had been in Guinea treating Ebola patients as a volunteer with the global aid charity Doctors Without Borders.
The aid organization has come out strongly against mandatory quarantines, arguing it could keep trained doctors from volunteering to help in West Africa, where the Ebola virus has infected more than 10,000 people, it they knew they would face a 3-week quarantine when they returned home.
The death toll in Africa from Ebola has approached 5,000, statistics released by the World Health Organization show.
