Tired of waiting for the federal government to ban travel from West African countries affected by the deadly Ebola virus plague, Louisiana's Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal has decided to act on his own.
Jindal signed
an executive order requiring Louisiana to keep track of travelers to and from Liberia, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
The executive order charges that the federal government "has failed to implement protections at the national level to prevent the entrance of the Ebola Virus Disease" into the U.S.
Jindal's official executive order, BJ 2014-13, requires all state departments to develop reporting procedures and policies for handling public employees, students or teachers traveling to or from countries infected with Ebola, and restricts anyone returning from those places from using "restaurants, grocery stores, gymnasiums, etc." and other "places where the public congregates," including public transportation, for 21 days after leaving an infected area, in effect, establishing a quarantine.
Jindal has been among many legislators, primarily Republican,
who have urged the Obama administration to establish a travel ban blocking visitors from West African until such time as the Ebola outbreak has been contained.
The administration and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have declined to institute a travel ban, saying it would be counter-productive because it would make it more difficult to keep track of visitors from West African countries, but Jindal has blasted that position.
"That statement defies logic," Jindal
told Politico. "How exactly would stopping the entry of people potentially carrying the Ebola virus be counterproductive? This seems to be an obvious step to protect public health in the United States.
"We should stop accepting flights from countries that are Ebola stricken."
Jindal states in his executive order, "It is prudent to implement common sense, precautionary measures to prevent the occurrence" of Ebola, and added, "such a threat can be reduced with the implementation of precautionary, common-sense measures for public employees, and students, faculty and staff of institutions of higher learning who travel to these countries."
The order instructs all state departments to notify the Department of Health and Hospitals, Infectious Disease Epidemiology Section, within 48 hours of being informed of intention to travel to West Africa and within 24 hours of return from such travel.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.