--- title: How Do the Quarantined Maintain Their Civil Rights? description: With more people being detained to defend against the virus, what rights are allotted to the quarantined? canonical: https://time.com/3534724/quarantine-civil-rights-bubonic-plague-ebola/ author: Salima Koroma article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-23T18:53:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T11:37:55.707Z article:section: Health og:title: How Do the Quarantined Maintain Their Civil Rights? og:description: With more people being detained to defend against the virus, what rights are allotted to the quarantined? og:url: https://time.com/3534724/quarantine-civil-rights-bubonic-plague-ebola/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28b42a99720a22b9/69876285cd68486122097492/1280tout.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: What rights are afforded the quarantined og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Do the Quarantined Maintain Their Civil Rights? twitter:description: With more people being detained to defend against the virus, what rights are allotted to the quarantined? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28b42a99720a22b9/69876285cd68486122097492/1280tout.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # #TheBrief: What Are the Rights of People Quarantined for Ebola? by [Salima Koroma](https://time.com/author/salima-koroma/) and [Ben Goldberger](https://time.com/author/ben-goldberger/) Oct 23, 2014 6:53 PM UTC  What rights are afforded the quarantined What rights are afforded the quarantinedTIME -- Salima Koroma by [Salima Koroma](https://time.com/author/salima-koroma/) and [Ben Goldberger](https://time.com/author/ben-goldberger/) Oct 23, 2014 6:53 PM UTC A tense waiting game ended this week for family and several others who had come into contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient to be diagnosed in the U.S. with Ebola and who died of the virus on Oct. 9\. All received a clean bill of health after being closely monitored for signs of infection and kept in isolation for three weeks. But while many in Dallas breathed a sigh of relief, fears sparked anew in New Jersey when an airline passenger showing signs of fever arrived from Liberia, one of the countries hit hardest by the current outbreak, and was sent to a medical center in case he might have contracted Ebola. With more people facing the possibility of detainment as a precaution, it’s important to get all the facts on what it actually means to be quarantined. Watch this brief history on how outbreaks have been handled since the plague days, as well as a primer on what kinds of rights you have while being held and monitored for symptoms. 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