Eau Claire County Judge Mandates Quarantine For Individual Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

The Eau Claire City-County Health Department has secured a court order mandating a resident be quarantined amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the court case has been sealed and county officials are not giving details about the individual or why the legally binding quarantine was necessary, Eau Claire County assistant corporation counsel Rick Eaton confirmed it was the first time the county sought a judges order to force a resident to self-isolate.

“This is one of those situations where this is not something we want to do,” said Eaton. “It’s just a necessity because of the potential exposure to the community.”

State statute authorizes the state Department of Health Services or local health officers to require isolation of a patient to prevent the spread of any communicable disease during a state of emergency. It also authorizes public health officials to swear-in quarantine guards, which have police powers, to “use all necessary means to enforce the state laws for the prevention and control of communicable diseases.”

Eaton said the Eau Claire County Circuit Court Order allows for the individual to be detained for 72 hours prior to a court hearing that will lay out specifics on how the quarantine may be enforced. In an email to WPR, he said the person has the right to a hearing and access to an attorney during the process.

If the quarantine is extended beyond the 72-hour detainment, Eaton said county health officials will have a number of logistical questions facing them.

“If you have someone trying to enforce a quarantine order do they have the PPE, the protective equipment, and what are they doing to enforce it?” asked Eaton. “Are they standing in the doorway or are they actively getting physical? I mean, not that that has happened, and nobody wants that to happen. It’s just that’s a question that’s up in the air and nobody wants to get into that situation.”

State law sets penalties for those violating quarantine orders and those who enter a “quarantine premises” that include fines up to $10,000 and as many as nine months in jail.

In April, Milwaukee-based attorneys Grant Killoran and Christa Wittenberg wrote an article for the State Bar of Wisconsin highlighting the delicate balance between due process for individuals and legal obligations of public officials to protect the health and safety of residents.

The article highlighted two Wisconsin cases where local governments required treatment and isolation for individuals.

In 2007, a Milwaukee woman was ordered to receive treatment for tuberculosis, which she refused. She was then ordered to be confined in the Milwaukee County Jail for an indefinite period. The case made it to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which found “no erroneous exercise of discretion” on the part of the county.

In 2018, a man suspected of being exposed to measles was ordered by Waukesha County health officials to quarantine at his home. Despite the order, the man hid in the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by his wife so that he could go to the gym. The husband and wife were charged with misdemeanors. The man was fined $1,464 while the wife was fined $330.