Florida Orders 21-Day Monitoring for Ebola

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is ordering twice daily monitoring for anyone returning from places the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designates as affected by Ebola.

Scott signed the order Saturday, giving the Florida Health Department authority to monitor individuals for 21 days. Scott said his administration asked the CDC to identify risk levels of returning individuals from specific parts of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone but has not received information.

Scott said he was taking action out of an abundance of caution following news that a New York doctor tested positive for Ebola after caring for patients in Africa. New York, New Jersey and Illinois have since introduced mandatory, 21-day quarantining of medical workers returning from West Africa.