Saturday, November 24, 2001 David Lore
Dispatch Science Reporter
Ohio health officials are considering how to establish and enforce a mass quarantine in the event of a major biological attack or epidemic.
The problem is just one of several being studied by Gov. Bob Taft's Security Task Force for possible resolution in the state legislature next year, said Lt. Gov. Maureen O'Connor, chairwoman of the group.
Another priority is identifying and establishing round-the-clock communications links with critical industries that might be terrorist targets, she said.
State officials also want a statewide mutual-aid compact for the dispatch of fire and law-enforcement units from across Ohio in the event of an emergency that can't be handled by local authorities.
Ohio law now states that the state Health Department has "supreme authority in matters of quarantine.''
There's uncertainty, though, because the state hasn't had any experience with mass quarantines for more than half a century, said Jodi Govern, the Health Department's chief legal counsel.
"The problem everybody recognizes is 'How do you actually put a large quarantine into place?' '' she said. "How do you quarantine the city of Columbus or several rural counties? It would be very difficult.''
Antibiotics reduced the threat of epidemics in this country, but now health officials have to worry about mass casualties from a terrorist attack using infectious diseases such as smallpox or the plague.
Even a widespread flu epidemic can't be ruled out, she said. The worldwide influenza pandemic in 1918-1919, for example, killed about 19,000 Ohioans, including 1,177 soldiers at Camp Sherman in Chillicothe.
Govern and Dale Shipley, director of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency, said state powers might have to be clarified as a mass quarantine likely would extend across political boundaries and involve restrictions on movement into or out of the infected area, or even the entire state.
Ohio law, Govern said, doesn't provide any guidance on how to enforce such a quarantine and what penalties could be imposed for breaking it or refusing vaccination.
Shipley said, "Under law, there's no doubt that Agriculture Director Fred Dailey can quarantine a herd, but Dr. Nick Baird at the Health Department doesn't exactly have the same authority.''
Medical issues aren't the only ones that will be put before the legislature next year because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the anthrax-laced letters.
"We need to look at all our critical systems and decide what to change,'' Shipley said.
At the governor's request, the Emergency Management Agency is compiling data on every conceivable terrorist target in the state, including utility plants, factories and other businesses critical to public well-being, he said.
"Our definition of critical assets is much different now, post-Sept.11,'' O'Connor said. "We're now looking at the enemy's ability to disrupt and destroy our homeland.''
The next step, which also could require legislation, is the establishment of a 24-hour emergency communications network linking plant operators to both state and local authorities.
In the past, disaster information has been passed up the line from local communities to state and federal agencies.
"Sept. 11 showed there was little ability to pass information down the chain,'' Shipley said. "The system is not set up now for me to inform people (at the local level) of a terrorist threat.''
State officials also cite the need for a statewide mutual-aid compact to direct the muster of firefighters, emergency medical care and law-enforcement agencies within Ohio in the event of a major disaster.
Today, there are only mutual-aid agreements between neighboring communities. The Ohio Fire Chiefs Association, however, is already working on a statewide plan for calling up firefighting units as needed.
Another immediate need is to make sure all first-responders have adequate equipment, whether they're firefighters, police officers, hazardous-materials crews or ambulance squads.
Ohio EMA expects to be able to distribute $5.4 million in federal anti-terrorism funds to local governments by early next year. The money is earmarked for protective clothing, decontamination units and communications gear for emergency forces.
The Ohio allocation comes from a $200 million U.S. Department of Justice program approved long before Sept. 11. Now Congress is debating multibillion dollar anti-terrorism packages for 2002.
"We're looking forward to the 2002 appropriations,'' Shipley said. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done.''