Continued confusion over NJ’s Ebola policy

There have been a lot of questions about New Jersey's official Ebola policy. Tuesday night, state health department officials were unable to provide written protocols regarding those arriving in the Garden State from Ebola regions in West Africa. Townsquare Media was instead directed to statements Gov. Chris Christie made recently and to statements released by his Administration.

"If they're just a traveler they will get screened as normal and the CDC and the Department of Health will make decisions about what to do from there," Christie said Monday. "If you are screened and you are asymptomatic, you can be allowed then to go to your home, travel to your home, whether it's in New Jersey, New York or someplace else in the country and be quarantined for 21 days there. If you are symptomatic, you will be quarantined in a hospital in New Jersey until we can find out whether you have the virus or not."

In an appearance on NBC's Today Show on Tuesday, Christie said governors ultimately have the responsibility to protect the public health and safety of the people within their borders. He also accused the CDC of being "behind on this" and the media of "sloppy reporting." The state's policy has not and will not change, the governor said.

CHRONOLOGY OF NEW JERSEY'S EBOLA RESPONSE

Oct. 22 - Christie activates his Statewide Ebola Preparedness Plan:

• Executive Order 164 created the Ebola Virus Disease Joint Response Team (EVD-JRT) to direct and coordinate on all matters pertaining to New Jersey's public health response. Christie administration officials, state agencies and departments were directed to work in a coordinated manner to ensure the health and safety of New Jersey residents is protected and to execute on decisions in an efficient and effective manner.

Oct. 22 - Christie said he's satisfied with the State's response:

• The governor said he was not dissatisfied with New Jersey's response to the Ebola virus. "If I become discontent I will take whatever steps I believe are necessary to protect the public health of the people of New Jersey and if someone wants to sue me over it they can," Christie said. "We are not going to be in the business of stoking hysteria about this in the public."

Oct. 24 - Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Coumo announced additional screening protocols at area airports:

• There will be real-time access to on-the-ground screening at JFK and Newark Liberty International Airports by New York and New Jersey Departments of Health staff. Each State Department of Health at JFK and Newark Liberty International Airports will, as permitted under applicable law, make its own determination as to hospitalization, quarantine, and other public health interventions for up to 21 days. New York and New Jersey are establishing enhanced communication protocols between their respective state health departments. The CDCs and Customs Border Patrol (CBP) will provide information to New York and New Jersey's respective State Departments of Health on all screening on a real-time basis and provide a daily recap as to the status of that day's screening and CDC determinations.

Oct. 26 - Christie stressed need to protect the public first:

• "This is government's job. If anything else, the government's job is to protect the safety and health of our citizens and so, we've taken this action and I absolutely have no second thoughts about it," Christie said when asked by Fox News Sunday about the mandatory quarantine policy.

Oct. 28 - Official New jersey Ebola protocols expected soon:

• A spokesman for the Christie Administration said a detailed and official State Ebola policy could be made public soon.