California orders 21-day quarantine on travelers from Ebola-afflicted countries

Passengers who arrive in California from an Ebola-stricken West African country and have had contact with an infected patient will face a 21-day quarantine, state health officials said Wednesday.

“This order will allow local health officers to determine, for those coming into California, who is most at risk for developing this disease, and to contain any potential spread of infectious disease by responding to those risks appropriately,” said Ron Chapman, the state’s public health director, in a statement.

Chapman added that travelers who have been in the affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, but not come into contact with the virus, will not be considered high risk and won’t be quarantined.

Anyone who doesn’t comply with the quarantine guidelines could face misdemeanor criminal charges, the Los Angeles Times reported.