POLL: Is New Jersey’s quarantine policy sensible or an overreaction?

The story of Kaci Hickox, the 33 year old Doctors Without Borders nurse, who returned from West Africa and subsequently quarantined in Newark - albeit under what she termed “inhumane conditions” – has stirred up a debate over whether our quarantine policy is overreaching or sensible.

Since both Governors Christie and Governor Andrew Cuomo of NY announced their mandatory quarantine policies this past Friday, Governor Cuomo amended NY’s - noting that individuals would be allowed to stay in their homes for 21 days and would be monitored by state and local health care personnel twice a day over the period. Those with symptoms would be taken to a hospital.

State officials here have stated Sunday night that ours would not change.

That is to say we would allow for home quarantine. If you’re a New Jersey resident with no symptoms but have come into contact with someone with Ebola, you’d be subject to home quarantine. Non-residents would be transported to their homes, or quarantined here if not.

Cox’s treatment has come under fire as she was twice shown to have no symptoms even though at one point she ran a fever of 101. This, she claims, was due to having been worked up over her treatment upon arriving. And to top it off, she was kept in an isolation tent with nothing but reading material, her cellphone to reach the outside world - plus no shower and just a portable toilet.

It’s all dizzying.

And much of the policy decision making has to do with the doctor who’d returned from the hot zone, having been symptomatic and is now being treated at Bellevue Hospital in New York.

Outside of possibly dissuading health care workers from going into the affected areas to treat Ebola victims – shouldn’t it make sense that some kind of quarantine would be in their best interests and in the interests of the public at large?

In the end, it was prudent on the part of the Governor to institute a policy of quarantining those returning from the affected areas in West Africa.

The devil's in the details.

Automatic quarantine despite not being symptomatic? Home quarantine for 21 days?
What?

And do you feel Kaci Hickox has a case in suing the state stating that her treatment was "inhumane" and our quarantine policy had infringed upon her constitutional rights?