NYS Public Health Legal Manual: A Guide for Judges, Attorneys ...

NEW YORK STATE PUBLIC HEALTH LEGAL MANUAL § 1.27
medical facility to isolate person having or suspected of having a contagious
disease].
[1.27] 2. Local Health Officer
10 NYCRR § 2.29 [“Whenever a case of a highly communicable
disease . . . comes to the attention of the [local] health officer he
shall isolate such patients as in his judgment he deems necessary.”]; PHL
§ 2100(2)(a) [local health officer may “provide for care and isolation of
cases of communicable disease in a hospital or elsewhere when necessary
for protection of the public health”]. • New York City: Health Code [24
RCNY] §§ 11.17(b), (c) and (d) [authority of City Department of Health
to order infected person who is not hospitalized to remain in isolation “at
home or other residence of his or her choosing” or to direct isolation in
other facility until transported to appropriate health care facility]; 11.23(a)
[City Health Commissioner may order “removal and/or detention” of
individual who “may pose an imminent and significant threat to the public
health resulting in severe morbidity or high mortality”].
Commentary
The duty to isolate an infected person starts with the treating physician.
The local health officer is typically brought into play through
the reporting obligations of the physician, laboratory and hospital.
[1.28] E. Authority to Quarantine
PHL §§ 2100(1) [a health officer shall guard against communicable
diseases “by the exercise of proper and vigilant medical inspection and
control of all persons and things infected with or exposed to such diseases”];
2100(2)(b) [a health officer may “prohibit and prevent all intercourse
and communication with or use of infected premises, places and
things”]. • New York City: Health Code [24 RCNY] §§ 11.17(d) [a “contact”
who is not hospitalized may be ordered by the City Department of
Health to remain in “quarantine” at home or elsewhere]; 11.23(a) [City
Commissioner of Health may order “detention” of a “contact” in an
“appropriate facility or premises”]. See § 11.01(g) [“‘Contact’ means an
individual who has been identified as having been exposed, or potentially
exposed, to a contagious or possibly contagious disease through such
close, prolonged or repeated association with another individual or animal
11