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Connecticut Officials Sued Over Ebola Quarantines In 2014

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HARTFORD, Conn. (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Several people quarantined in Connecticut after returning from West Africa during the Ebola epidemic in 2014 are suing Governor Dannel P. Malloy and state health officials, saying they were essentially imprisoned based on politics and not for any legal or scientific reason.

Yale Law School students filed the federal lawsuit Monday. The plaintiffs include a West African family of six and a current student and former student at the Yale School of Public Health.

The law students say the plaintiffs had no Ebola symptoms, but were illegally quarantined for two to three weeks. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and an order preventing such quarantines in the future.

A Malloy adviser says the governor will continue to take necessary actions to protect the public.

The first diagnosed case of Ebola in the United States was in North Texas. Thomas Eric Duncan had come from Liberia to Dallas to visit family. When Duncan first became ill he went to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, but was given medication and sent back home.

The 42-year-old was eventually diagnosed with Ebola and placed in quarantine. He died on October, 8 2014.

(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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