New Bill Would Allow State to Detain People if Deemed a Threat to Public Health

A bill being introduced in the New York State Assembly would allow the governor and other health officials to detain anyone suspected of being a “carrier” of a contagious disease, like the coronavirus.

The legislation is sponsored by Assemblyman N. Nick Perry and was previously introduced in 2015 due to Ebola virus, but never passed. The bill’s language says that if the governor “declares a state of health emergency due to an epidemic of any communicable disease” then the state can take steps to detain any individuals sick or suspected of being sick.

“Upon determining by clear and convincing evidence that the health of others is or may be endangered by a case, contact or carrier” the governor may, after consulting the health commissioner, “order the removal and/or detention of such a person or of a group of such persons by issuing a single order, identifying such persons either by name or by a reasonably specific description of the individuals or group being detained.”

Those detained can only be released if the state proves the person is not a threat to public health.

Persons detained would be held in a “medical facility” or another “appropriate facility or premises designated by the governor” for no longer than three days, but could be held longer. (Read more from “New Bill Would Allow State to Detain People if Deemed a Threat to Public Health” HERE)

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