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MEDIA ADVISORYFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, October 26, 2014
WHAT: Press Conference Calling for True Rescinding of Cuomo Mandatory Ebola Quarantine to Align
Policy with Science-Based Public Health Recs
WHEN: Noon (EST), Monday, October 27, 2014
WHERE: In Front of Bellevue Hospital Center, 462 First Avenue (between 27
th
& 28
th
Sts.), New York City
U.S. & Global Leaders of the HIV/AIDS Response Hold Press Conference to Call on Governor Cuomo to
Rescind Policy of Mandatory Home Quarantine for Persons Who Have Been In Proximity to Persons with
Ebola Virus Disease

Monday, October 27, at noon (EST), leaders of the AIDS community and other public health experts will hold a press
conference in front of Bellevue Hospital Center, 462 First Avenue, Manhattan. We will call on NYS Governor Andrew
Cuomo to rescind the recently announced policy of mandatory quarantine of persons who have been in close proximity to
people with Ebola virus disease (EVD).
On Friday, October 24
th
, Gov. Cuomo joined New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to announce a new policy at Port Authority-
operated airports, including John F. Kennedy and Newark International Airportsto question each person who has
traveled in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, and to order immediate mandatory 21-day quarantine of any person who
acknowledges having been in proximity to persons with EVD. At least one person is already confined: a nurse who
volunteered with Mdicins Sans Frontires to care for EVD patients in West Africa is being held involuntarily at a New
Jersey hospital under mandatory quarantinedespite a complete absence of any clinical indicator of EVD.
Governor Cuomos subsequent, slight revision to Fridays announced policy, made Sunday evening under mounting
pressure from the White House, public-health experts, and the AIDS community, was characterized by the Governors
Office as a looseningto confinement at homebut in fact, it remains a mandatory, 21-day quarantine, just at home,
not in the hospital. As such, the revised policy still goes against evidence-based, CDC-recommended public health practices
grounded in science, and it continues to contribute to ongoing misunderstanding of how the Ebola virus is transmitted and
spread as well as to growing stigma and public panic.
Leaders in the HIV/AIDS response have circulated a letter to the Governor calling for rescission of the policy. Since
Saturday, the group has collected over 100 signatures, including notable public health leaders such as Chris Beyrer, President
at The International AIDS Society; Paul D. Cleary, Dean at Yale School of Public Health; Wafaa El-Sadr, Director
of International Center for AIDS Programs; and Paul Farmer, Kolokotrones University Professor at Harvard University and
Co-Founder of Partners in Health. In addition, the letter has received support from a diverse array of groups including
amfAR, BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS, Empire State Pride Agenda, and numerous AIDS service and
LGBT organizations.
At the 10/27 press conference, the group will address concerns that the new policy has no basis in current evidence on
effective disease control. They will also raise the concern that these policies will inhibit medical volunteerism, which is
critical to the fight against Ebola in West Africa. They will raise concerns that the policy conveys dangerously incorrect
information by implying that Ebola can be easily transmitted by persons who are asymptomatica misunderstanding that
will inevitably lead to stigma and discrimination. These leaders will also challenge the policy as unenforceable and counter-
productive as a public health measure.
Long-time AIDS activist Peter Staley said, It is unfortunate that the Governor has made such a hasty decision without
consulting with leading public health experts. Having seen the stigma that has arisen around HIV/AIDS, I fear that stigma
and fear are now going to become significant barriers to addressing Ebola.
We need sound science and evidence-based public health policy to address the Ebola crisis. In the United States we need
public health policy free of fear, stigma, and discrimination. We must support the African nations heavily impacted by
Ebola and the health-care professionals who risk their lives to care for those nations most affected, stated Guillermo
Chacon, President of the Latino Commission on AIDS.
Charles King, President and CEO of Housing Works, said, If the logic of this new policy were sound, then we would be
quarantining all of the New York City-based people, including first responders, nurses, and doctors, who are working
directly with Dr. Craig Spencer, the Ebola patient who has been hospitalized since Thursday. Instead, we are imposing this
policy only on people coming from Africa, clearly a response to hysteria generated by the media rather than what is in New
Yorkers best interests.