Biden adds measles to list of diseases that could require quarantine

[left-of-center2012]

Source: Reuters

President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order adding measles to a list of communicable diseases that could require quarantine after several Afghan refugees were diagnosed with the highly contagious disease after arriving in the United States.

The action makes measles one of the diseases for which federal health authorities have the authority to issue quarantine orders requiring people who have been diagnosed with measles or exposed to it to self-isolate to protect public health, a White House official said in a statement.

"This action was taken at the request of public health officials, who cited the cases of measles among Afghans who recently arrived in the U.S. as well as several previous outbreaks of measles in recent years," the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The statement did not give details on the nature or length of the quarantine.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-adds-measles-list-diseases-that-could-require-quarantine-2021-09-17/

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Flights carrying Afghan refugees to the United States were temporarily paused because of four cases of measles, the White House said last week.

Afghans who were diagnosed with measles after arriving in the United States "have been housed separately in accordance with public health guidelines," and CDC has been conducting contact tracing, the official said.

Measles can be dangerous, especially for babies and young children, and pneumonia is among the possible complications, according to the CDC.

[IronLionZion]

1. Yup, antivaxxers have made Measles great again

Afghan refugees are probably open to vaccination I would hope. In places like Brooklyn, a lot of Hasidic or Orthodox Jews have decided not to be vaccinated for Measles. And then they find out the hard way how quickly it spreads among children when there are lots of them unvaccinated together, like in school.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Come on, where are the anti-maskers fighting for the freedom of these people to spread measles?

Good on Biden - we don't need to get measles rolling again.

[FakeNoose]

3. While I totally get the reasons why he did this

... shouldn't measles quarantines be a localized thing?

It's not like most of us are going to ever come in contact with those few Afghan refugees. As long as the awareness is heightened in the areas where they might be living, why would it need to be a blanket quarantine across the country?

[left-of-center2012]

4. Are you unaware of the measles outbreak in NYC ?

That one is among Orthodox Jews.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Philly had 11,869 refugees come through our airport through to Sept. 14

Link to tweet

TEXT

City of Philadelphia
@PhiladelphiaGov
#OperationAlliesRefugePHL Update:
➡️ No evacuees came through @PHLAirport on Sept. 14.
➡️ PHL Airport has welcomed a total of 11,869 evacuees to the U.S. so far.
➡️ No evacuees are anticipated to arrive today.
12:25 PM · Sep 15, 2021

I believe some have been transferred to various bases like Joint Base Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst which is not far from here. Others are actually going to be settled in this area.

I found this where the PA National Guard was going to assist in some of the transport duties and the same article mentioned where other refugees would be held - https://www.pa.ng.mil/Site-Management/News-Article-View/Article/2761907/pa-national-guard-airmen-activated-for-operation-allies-welcome/

U.S. military bases taking in evacuees from Afghanistan include Fort Lee, Fort Pickett and Marine Corps Base Quantico, all in Virginia; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey; Fort McCoy, Wisconsin; Camp Atterbury, Indiana; Fort Bliss, Texas; and Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.

ETA - some more info from about 10 days ago - https://whyy.org/articles/8500-plus-afghans-have-landed-at-phl-where-they-all-end-up-is-still-up-in-the-air/

[BootinUp]

6. Hooray, adults are in charge

How can I get all worked up into an anxious state?

[keithbvadu2]

7. Maybe a religious exemption from quarantine for someone with a contagious disease attending their se

Maybe a religious exemption from quarantine for someone with a contagious disease attending their services?

You can't deny my right to worship!

???

Some kids still get mumps, measles, chicken pox.

Bring 'em to church.

[Rhiannon12866]

8. Isn't the MMR vaccine required to attend school?

I had a friend who returned to college a few years ago and she had to get the MMR before she could attend classes. So I'm assuming that it's required for kids to attend school anywhere - along with the other vaccines that are required.