New Jersey Governor Chris Christie explained his state’s new mandatory Ebola quarantine during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” saying that government’s first priority is protecting its citizens.
HOST CHRIS WALLACE: What about [National Institute of Health infectious disease chief Anthony] Fauci who says it’s not good science to quarantine people when they’re not symptomatic because they can’t spread the disease in those situations?
CHRISTIE: I have great respect for Dr. Fauci. But what he’s counting on is a voluntary system with folks that may or may not comply. We had this situation in New Jersey, as you know, with the NBC news crew they said they would self-quarantine and two days later they were out picking up takeout food in Princeton and walking around the streets of Princeton. The fact of the matter is I don’t believe when you’re dealing with something as serious as this we can count on voluntary system. This is government’s job. If anything else the government job is to protect the safety and health of our citizens. So we’ve taken this action, and I absolutely have no second thoughts about it.