Kentucky Police Surrounds COVID-19 Patient's Home To 'Force An Isolation' After He Refuses Quarantine

KEY POINTS

Patient postive for COVID-19, 53, refused quarantine
He checked out of hospital against legal advice
Kentucky police surrounded his house to force him to self-quarantine

A COVID-19 patient from Kentucky refused to quarantine himself so police surrounded his home and "forced" him into isolation.

The patient, a 53-year-old resident of Nelson County checked himself out of the hospital against medical advice and refused to quarantine himself after he tested positive for the virus, CNN reported.

A Kentucky novel coronavirus patient checked himself out of the hospital against medical advice. So to prevent him from spreading the virus, officials are surrounding his house to keep him there. https://t.co/HkbBzsI9Gj
— CNN (@CNN) March 17, 2020

Nelson County Sherriff Ramon Pineiroa shared details in a Kentucky Standard article on how they "forced an isolation" on the man, saying that deputies were stationed outside of the patient's house for 24 hours a day for two weeks.

"It's a step I hoped that I'd never have to take," Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said in a conference on Saturday. "But I can't allow one person who we know has this virus to refuse to protect their neighbors."

According to Pineiroa, the patient, who is one of the first 20 confirmed cases in the state, is now cooperating.

Nelson County Judge Executive Dean Watts told WDRB that imposing those measures on the patient was necessary for the safety of the community.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Kentucky law allows the Cabinet for Health and Family Services the power to issue and "strictly maintain" quarantine and isolation as it sees necessary.