Court blocks forced Covid-19 quarantine

In another stinging setback for the government, the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) ruled that the state may not force patients who test positive for Covid-19 into compulsory state quarantine if they are able to self-isolate, notes Legalbrief. AfriForum claimed the court ruling as a victory after challenging regulations signed by the Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs Ministry under the Disaster Management Act on 29 April. ‘These regulations, which AfriForum regards as ... irrational, were aimed at putting everyone who tests positive for Covid-19 under compulsory state quarantine,’ the lobby group said in a statement recorded by TimesLIVE. The regulations suggested that everyone who tested positive for Covid-19, regardless of whether they showed symptoms, could be placed in a government isolation facility. The department failed to oppose the application. ‘These regulations would have given the state the power to force people into quarantine without their permission – even under circumstances where the person may be able to effectively self-isolate. It would consequently have given law enforcers and the state too much power under the guise of combating the spread of the virus,’ said AfriForum. ‘The importance of civil rights organisations and institutions that oppose autocratic and irrational decisions by government has become increasingly clear during this lockdown. When the government abuses its power and tries to bully the public by violating people’s rights, AfriForum will stand up against it – to the benefit of everyone in the country,’ said Monique Taute, head of campaigns at AfriForum. Two Limpopo doctors were forced into quarantine by the provincial department of health in April.

– TimesLIVE

The court did not flesh out its reasoning, but according to the order it issued, the regulations dealing with quarantine and isolation would be interpreted and applied as follows: ‘A person who has been confirmed as a clinical case, or as a laboratory confirmed case as having contracted Covid-19, or who is suspected of having contracted Covid-19, is only required to be quarantined or isolated at a state facility, or other designated quarantine site, when that person is unable to self-quarantine or self-isolate, or refuses to do so, or violates the self-quarantine or self-isolation rules.’ Additionally, notes News24, the order also explains that to successfully self-quarantine or self-isolate, a person requires access to a separate room, where the person should self-isolate and that no one else should sleep or spend time in that room. ‘The person must also be able to contact and/or return to a health facility if their condition worsens.’

– News24