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CODE OF MARYLAND REGULATIONS
TITLE 10. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE
SUBTITLE 59. CATASTROPHIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES
CHAPTER 01. CARE OF INDIVIDUALS ISOLATED OR QUARANTINED DUE TO A DEADLY AGENT
Date:
08/31/2009
Document:
.03 Standards For Isolation and Quarantine.
A. As set forth in Health-General Article, § 18-905, Annotated Code of Maryland, in investigating actual or potential exposures to a deadly agent, the Secretary may order isolation or quarantine of an individual or a group of individuals, including those individuals who refuse to be vaccinated, medically examined, treated, or tested.
B. An individual who does not comply with an isolation or quarantine order of the Secretary is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine and imprisonment pursuant to Health-General Article, § 18-907(a), Annotated Code of Maryland.
C. If the Secretary issues an order in compliance with Health-General Article, § 18-905(b), Annotated Code of Maryland, the Secretary may order an individual into isolation or quarantine at:
(1) A health care facility;
(2) The individual's home; or
(3) A nonhealth care facility.
D. Place of Quarantine or Isolation other than the Individual's Home.
(1) If the Secretary has determined that it is necessary to issue an isolation or quarantine order for an individual to a facility other than the individual's home, the health officer, in consultation with other public health professionals, shall recommend to the Secretary a suitable place for isolation or quarantine.
(2) The health officer shall base the recommendation for a place for isolation or quarantine on the following:
(a) The seriousness of the disease;
(b) The route or routes of transmission of the disease;
(c) The contagiousness of the disease;
(d) Precedents in the practice of public health;
(e) The behavior, neurological development and condition, and physical condition of the individual being isolated or quarantined; and
(f) The access to needed support services at the site.
E. The health officer, with assistance from local emergency management services, law enforcement personnel, or both, as needed, shall arrange for and provide, if needed, transportation for an individual to be isolated or quarantined.
F. The health officer, with assistance from the local law enforcement agency as needed, shall monitor an isolated or quarantined individual by phone call, home visit, or other means, to ensure that the isolated or quarantined individual stays in the designated facility at all times during the period of isolation or quarantine, except in an emergency such as fire, natural disaster, or evacuation of the area by a county, State, or federal agency for any other reason.
G. If evacuation from the site occurs in an emergency, an isolated or quarantined individual shall notify the health officer immediately by a phone call or any other means possible and follow instructions given by the health officer.
H. Unless not available in the community due to a general state of emergency, the health officer, the administrator of a health care facility, or an individual in charge of an isolation or quarantine facility set forth in Regulation .07B of this chapter, with assistance from staff at local health care facilities, local law enforcement agencies, local social service agencies, local county agencies, or other agencies, shall ensure that an isolation or quarantine facility has, at a minimum:
(1) Electricity;
(2) Hot and cold potable (fit to drink) water;
(3) Hand-washing facilities;
(4) Toilets;
(5) Heat;
(6) Telephone access; and
(7) Means for discarding trash and waste.
I. If an isolated or quarantined individual is in a health care facility, the administrator of the health care facility, and otherwise the health officer, with assistance from staff at local health care facilities, local law enforcement agencies, local social service agencies, local county agencies, or other agencies, shall ensure that an individual in isolation or quarantine has access to, at a minimum:
(1) Food;
(2) Medical supplies;
(3) Medications; and
(4) Medical care, including psychological care.
J. To the extent feasible, the health officer shall provide information to an isolated or quarantined individual, without compromising the health of the isolated or quarantined individual or the people caring for the isolated or quarantined individual, by:
(1) Assessing the language needs of the isolated or quarantined individual;
(2) Translating both oral and written communications and documentation; and
(3) Monitoring to assure that the isolated or quarantined individual is not treated in a discriminatory manner.
K. If an isolated or quarantined individual is in a health care facility, the administrator of the health care facility, and otherwise the health officer, shall, to the extent feasible:
(1) Determine whether the individual has any cultural or religious beliefs that would interfere with medical care during quarantine or isolation; and
(2) Make arrangements to accommodate these beliefs, without compromising the health of:
(a) The isolated or quarantined individual; or
(b) The people caring for the isolated or quarantined individual.
L. An individual in isolation or quarantine shall:
(1) Follow all written and verbal instructions provided by the Department and the local health department;
(2) Notify and receive approval from the local health officer in advance of relocation to a new isolation or quarantine site, except in an emergency such as fire, natural disaster, or evacuation of the area by a county, State, or federal agency for any other reason; and
(3) Notify the health officer immediately upon relocation to a new location, in the event of an emergency such as fire, natural disaster, or evacuation of the area by a county, State, or federal agency for any other reason.
M. An individual in isolation or quarantine may not leave the isolation or quarantine site without notification of the health officer, except in an emergency such as fire, natural disaster, or evacuation of the area by a county, State, or federal agency for any other reason.
N. Parent or Guardian of an Isolated or Quarantined Minor.
(1) If the Secretary orders a minor into isolation or quarantine, the minor's parent or guardian may accompany the minor into isolation or quarantine.
(2) If the Secretary orders a minor into isolation or quarantine and the minor's parent or guardian is unavailable, the minor shall be isolated or quarantined in a facility where adequate care and supervision are available for the minor.
(3) The health officer shall follow the requirements of § I of this regulation in regard to the parent or guardian.
O. The health officer, in consultation with local health care providers, shall:
(1) Recommend to the Secretary when an individual can be released from isolation or quarantine; and
(2) Notify the individual who is isolated or quarantined of the date and time of release from isolation or quarantine, as decided by the Secretary.
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