Quarantine Policy by Cuomo/Christie Raises More Questions

Things seemed to be going fairly well a few nights ago when it was announced that a doctor, Craig Spencer, had been diagnozed with Ebola in New York City. NY Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Commissioner of the Department of Health sat next to Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene, Dr. Mary Travis Basset. Everyone seemed on board with both the response and the message. Hospitals and health care workers were prepared. Communication was going to be key in preventing panic in NYC and by osmosis the entire country.

Everyone was in agreement. Few were in danger, appropriate actions were being taken, no one should panic. It seemed like a dose of good medicine that we all needed in the wake of questionable management of previous incidents and communications.

Then something strange happened. Something that again would raise antennas and questions. Less then 24 hours after this initial show of unity and confidence, Andrew Cuomo held a joint news conference with Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey. There they both announced a new policy of quarantining travelers from countries in West Africa if they had worked with or come into contact with people with Ebola. In the news conference, Cuomo also seemed to question the actions of Dr. Spencer for being out and about when he was not showing any signs of the disease.

An interesting turn of events and a continuation of the mixed messages that politicians seem to give when discussing or acting on policies relative to the control of Ebola. It's important by the way to remember that these are politicians and not doctors or scientists. As a matter of fact it was only a few short days ago when Gov. Cuomo in a debate with his opponent for elected office indicated that he was not a scientist and couldn't really make a judgement on the safety of Hydrofracturing or Fracking. At that time he said it was important to follow the science. Now, it seems, he wants Gov. Christie and himself to call the shots on medical issues related to Ebola.

In that news conference both Governors began talking about state boarders being under their control and responsibility. Who knew two northeast Governors would be making states rights arguments about protecting their boarders. This is being presented as an example of strong and needed leadership in the face of a crises. All indications are that this new policy will have a devastating impact on medical personnel wanting to volunteer in Ebola ravished countries. Most people may not be aware that doctors and nurses are volunteering 3-4 weeks of their time, service and expertise. If they return to the potential of a required 21 day quarantine symptoms or not, many will opt out from this volunteer activity. In addition, this new policy just seems to continue the fear mongering.

But this is text book Andrew Cuomo. He is reacting to his own fear of the public and voters. He is positioning himself again as a national figure. He has changed his position in 24 hours with his finger in the air testing which way the wind is blowing. In announcing his new policy, he left out Mayor de Blasio and Dr. Mary Travis Basset. He left them out, and after the fact stated bluntly that the Port Authority of NY&NJ are separate entities acting independently. Dr. Basset was not very happy and I'm sure the mayor is scratching his head on this one.

All of this just continues to raise more questions in the public's mind. Is the threat real or imagined? Can they/we trust elected officials to tell the truth? Do they know the truth? Are people working together? The questions are real. I fear the politicians are not. My money is still on the doctors and nurses.