A Kentucky man who tested positive for the coronavirus and checked himself out of the hospital against medical advice is now forced to stay in his home after local authorities placed a guard outside his house in Nelson County, CNN reports.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Bechear confirmed last weekend that a 53-year-old man is being kept in his home, and that a law enforcement officer has been placed nearby to ensure he does not leave.
“We have had the first instance of a person who has refused to self-isolate, we have taken steps to force an isolation that will be in their home,” Beshear said at a press conference on Saturday. “It’s a step I hoped I never had to take, but we can’t allow one person we know who has this virus to refuse to protect their neighbors.”
Nelson County Sheriff Ramon Pineiroa later confirmed to The Kentucky Standard that deputies will “be out here 24/7 for two weeks” to enforce the patient’s isolation, noting that the man “was cooperating now.”
Nelson County Judge-Executive Dean Watts told CNN affiliate WDRB that "this is about us. It's not about I. We are a community, and you need to keep your community safe. You need to keep your family safe, so quarantine is a must, and if we have to, we'll do it by force."
Watts told the Louisville Courier Journal that forced isolation is permitted only because he declared a State of Emergency in the county last week. Kentucky laws does not state a penalty for breaking a quarantine order, though it is a misdemeanor in most states.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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