Update on NH situation of the medical resident that went to a party after being told to self medicate:
Told to Stay Home, Suspected Coronavirus Patient Attended Event With Dartmouth Students
Quotes from article:
Angry patrons wrote back on Facebook that the coronavirus patient should be jailed or fined.
But it appears that the patient was under no legal obligation to stay home at the time.
Under New Hampshire law, a person who refuses to comply with a formal isolation order issued by the health commissioner is guilty of a misdemeanor. In other states, refusing to comply is a felony. [BBM] But on Friday, the patient had not been diagnosed, and had merely been advised by a health care worker to stay home. The formal isolation order was issued after the mixer, after the patient was tested on Monday and the results were determined “presumed positive,” state authorities said.
New Hampshire officials have made clear in their public statements that they feel the patient acted irresponsibly. But he does not appear to have broken the law.
“You can’t bring criminal charges for being a bonehead or just not doing what you were told was advisable to do,” said Wendy Parmet, faculty director of the Center for Health Policy and Law at Northeastern University. “It’s not illegal to ignore the advice of your health care provider, or even the health department, until officials follow the particular procedures to issue a formal health order, and those procedures vary by state.” [BBM]
There is a downside to punishing a single individual in such a case, she said.
“We certainly don’t want people to think that they shouldn’t get tested because if they do, they’ll open themselves up to criminal liability, or a policeman at the door enforcing quarantine,” she said. “Those are consequences that deter testing, treatment and compliance.”
The second New Hampshire patient who tested positive for coronavirus, also a man from Grafton County, is also under isolation at home.
