Washington Administrative Code › Title 246 - Health, Department of › COMMUNICABLE DISEASES › Chapter 246-100 - Communicable and certain other diseases › Section 246-100-045 - Conditions and principles for isolation or quarantine

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
The local health officer shall adhere to the following
				  conditions and principles when isolating or quarantining a person or group of
				  persons in accordance with WAC
				  246-100-040:
(1) Isolation or quarantine must be by the
				least restrictive means necessary to prevent the spread of a communicable or
				possibly communicable disease to others and may include, but are not limited
				to, confinement to private homes or other public or private premises;
(2) Isolated individuals must be confined
				separately from quarantined individuals;
(3) The health status of isolated or
				quarantined individuals must be monitored regularly to determine if they
				require continued isolation or quarantine;
(4) If a quarantined individual subsequently
				becomes infected or is reasonably believed to have become infected with a
				communicable or possibly communicable disease that the local health officer
				believes poses a significant threat to the health and safety of other
				quarantined individuals, he or she must promptly be placed in
				isolation;
(5) Isolated or
				quarantined individuals must be released as soon as practicable when the local
				health officer determines that they have been successfully decontaminated or
				that they pose no substantial risk of transmitting a communicable or possibly
				communicable disease that would constitute a serious or imminent threat to the
				health and safety of others;
(6)
				The needs of a person isolated or quarantined must be addressed to the greatest
				extent possible in a systematic and competent fashion, including, but not
				limited to, providing adequate food, clothing, shelter, means of communication
				with those in isolation or quarantine and outside these settings, medication,
				and competent medical care;
(7)
				Premises used for isolation or quarantine must be maintained in a safe and
				hygienic manner to minimize the likelihood of further transmission of infection
				or other harm to persons isolated and quarantined;
(8) To the extent possible, cultural and
				religious beliefs should be considered in addressing the needs of individuals,
				and establishing and maintaining isolation or quarantine premises;
(9) Isolation or quarantine shall not abridge
				the right of any person to rely exclusively on spiritual means alone through
				prayer to treat a communicable or possibly communicable disease in accordance
				with religious tenets and practices, nor shall anything in this chapter be
				deemed to prohibit a person so relying who is infected with a contagious or
				communicable disease from being isolated or quarantined in a private place of
				his or her own choice, provided, it is approved by the local health officer,
				and all laws, rules and regulations governing control, sanitation, isolation
				and quarantine are complied with. At his or her sole discretion, the local
				health officer may isolate infected individuals declining treatment for the
				duration of their communicable infection.
Statutory Authority:
					 RCW
					 43.20.050(2)(d),
					 70.05.050, and
					 70.05.060. 03-05-048, §
					 246-100-045, filed 2/13/03, effective
					 2/13/03.