WATCH: Obama declares Ebola can be defeated, urges “robust” international response
WASHINGTON – For Americans wondering why President Barack Obama hasn’t forced all states to follow a single, national rule for isolating potential Ebola patients, the White House has a quick retort: Talk to the Founding Fathers.
A hodgepodge of state policies is sowing confusion about what’s really needed to stop Ebola from spreading in the United States. While public health advocates denounce state quarantines as draconian and scientifically baseless, anxious citizens in non-quarantine states are asking whether they’re at greater risk because their governors and Obama have adopted a lesser level of caution.
WATCH: Obama says it’s “critical we maintain that leadership” in the fight against Ebola in West Africa
The Constitution empowers the federal government to isolate sick people entering the U.S. or travelling between states. But the states have the bulk of the authority to regulate public health, including the decision to enforce quarantines within their borders.
WATCH: Obama emphasizes the need to “stop the epidemic at its source”
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