Liberians In U.S. File Lawsuit Against State Officials For Ordering Them To Be Quarantined During Ebola Epidemic

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals upheld a ruling against individuals and the Liberian Community Association of Connecticut who claimed state officials overstepped in ordering two to three-week quarantines from immigrants and travelers from West Africa during the Ebola epidemic between 2014 and 2016.

This case arises out of the Ebola epidemic that ravaged West Africa between 2014 and 2016. In response to the epidemic, then-Governor Dannel Malloy declared a public health emergency in the State of Connecticut.

The declaration authorized Dr. Jewel Mullen, then-Commissioner of Public Health, to isolate or quarantine individuals whom she believed had been exposed to or could transmit the Ebola virus.

She ordered twenty-one-day quarantines for two Ph.D. candidates—Ryan Boyko and Laura Skrip—and six members of the Mensah-Sieh family who had recently emigrated from Liberia. None of the quarantined individuals were infected with Ebola.

See below the lawsuit