With all the current concern about Ebola, it is important to understand what are quarantine and isolation and who can order these.
Per the Centers for Disease Control:
Quarantine: separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.
Isolation: separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick
Federal Law allows for quarantine and isolation:
From the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution
Delegated to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
The CDC is "authorized to detain, medically examine, and release persons arriving into the United States and traveling between states who are suspected of carrying these communicable diseases."
The CDC may issue a federal isolation or quarantine order
Last large scale use was during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919
Breaking of a federal quarantine order is punishable by fines and imprisonment
State laws allows for the enforcement of isolation and quarantine within their borders.
Bottom Line:
There have been no large-scale quarantine or isolation orders for 100 years. However, the CDC can issue an order that has the authority of the Constitution and federal law for enforcement.
