CHICAGO – Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH)
Director Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck today provided further
guidance on Illinois’ Ebola safety guidelines,
including mandatory home quarantines for individuals
who have a high-risk of exposure to the virus.
“The Ebola safety guidance IDPH issued on Friday was
designed to ensure that the public is protected
without
discouraging our health care workers from
volunteering
to fight this virus at its source,” Dr.
Hasbrouck
said. “These guidelines ensure that we
appropriately
address the risks posed by workers who
have been
directly exposed to the Ebola virus without
the
necessary protective gear or procedures. These
individuals have a higher probability of becoming ill
and a home quarantine is the most responsible way in
which to manage this situation.”
The guidance on
Friday was issued in light of the
need for direction to
local health departments about
following up on
passenger returning from Sierra
Leone, Guinea and
Liberia. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
(CDC) plans to issue guidance
on this topic
soon.
The IDPH guidance calls for a 21-day home
quarantine
for any returning traveler who has had
high-risk
exposures to Ebola.
High-risk in this context refers to anyone who:
• Had unprotected (percutaneous or mucous membrane)
contact with infectious blood or body fluids of an
Ebola patient.
• Made direct skin contact with blood or
body fluids
of an Ebola patient without appropriate
personal
protective equipment (PPE).
• Processed blood or body fluids of an Ebola patient
without appropriate equipment or standard biosafety
precautions.
• Made direct contact with the dead body
of an Ebola
patient without appropriate PPE.
• Lived with or shared a
household with an Ebola
patient in an outbreak affected
country.
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