NY Assemblyman Defends Bill Permitting Detainment of Carriers of ‘Contagious Disease’

Creative rendition of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles. Note: not to scale. NIAID [shorturl.at/hHKWY]

A New York Democrat on Sunday defended a controversial bill that could allow the state governor to “order the removal” or detention of an individual deemed to be a suspected case, contact, or carrier of a “contagious disease” if they “pose an imminent and significant threat to the public health.”

Assemblyman Nick Perry, sponsor of Bill A416 that could see individuals detained “by a single order ... in a medical facility or other appropriate facility,” pushed back against backlash that the legislation would violate Americans’ constitutional rights, according to a statement.