Quinn Defends Ebola Quarantine Policy, Rauner Calls For Travel Ban
(CBS) -- Governor Pat Quinn is standing by his administration's policy of ordering mandatory quarantines for those returning to Illinois after being exposed to Ebola patients in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
Gov. Quinn says he has heard from the White House and the Health and Human Services Secretary about Illinois' procedures in dealing with those exposed to the Ebola virus in West Africa and he is standing by current policy when it comes to returning health workers and others.
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"We have to be on our toes and part of being on our toes is for those who have been directly exposed to Ebola, who have been in high-risk health situations, when they arrive and if they do in Illinois, there will be a 21 day period, mandatory, of confinement in a quarantine in their home," Quinn said. "And I do want to point out we are different than New Jersey, that I don't think did the right thing with the tent. That was very wrong."
The healthcare worker in New Jersey has since been released.
Meanwhile, Quinn's opponent Bruce Rauner is calling for a ban on travel to countries affected by Ebola.
"I support Senator Kirk's call on the State Department to issue a visa and travel ban on those attempting to travel from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone," Rauner said in a statement. "It is troubling that Governor Quinn would not support a travel ban particularly given that O'Hare is one of the world's busiest airports."
James Wilkowski of the Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest says all the quarantines are being done for political reasons, not medical.
"If a person is clear and if they are showing no symptoms, there is no reason for them to go into a quarantine," he said.
