Poll results showed that the majority of New York residents support the 21-day quarantine policy and Gov. Andrew Cuomo's response to Ebola.
The quarantine policy applies to individuals who had exposure to the deadly virus especially those returning from West Africa, including health workers. During the quarantine period, the individuals would be isolated in separate buildings and would not be allowed to see their families for 21 days. U.S. President Barrack Obama described the new guidelines as "sensible, based in science" while the opposition argued that there is no science behind it, and it only hinders people from volunteering in West Africa.
Some people do not welcome the idea. One instance is Kaci Hickox, 33, from Maine, who returned in the state from Sierra Leone after treating Ebola patients. She was subjected to a mandatory quarantine even though she has tested negative for the virus. She expressed her defiance of the policy by going for a bike ride on Thursday. She argued that there was no court order requiring her to be quarantined, but she said that she would fight it, according to Reuters.
While Maine had a showdown with an unwilling individual, the case might not be the same for New York. According to the poll conducted by the Wall Street Journal/NBC 4 New York/Marist College, 82 percent of the 1,042 adult respondents support the 21-day quarantine policy regardless of whether the person shows symptoms or not.
When asked what they think about Gov. Cuomo's response to the Ebola crisis, 63 percent said they approve while 22 percent object to it. More than half of the respondents also agree with the travel ban.
So why do most New Yorkers surveyed support the mandatory quarantine? Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, believes that people responded based on "common sense."
"The quarantine makes sense, because people are concerned about the spread and they think this will prevent that," Miringoff to the Wall Street Journal.
The poll also asked about the governor's performance. While many favored how he was handling Ebola in New York, 54 percent of the respondents rated his job performance as fair/poor. Even so, registered voters still prefer him over other political candidates and still have higher favorable impression.
