KY man exposed to coronavirus won’t stay home. Prosecutor seeks quarantine order.
Authorities sought a court order Friday directing a McCreary County man to quarantine at home after he was exposed to the novel coronavirus but would not self-isolate.
Other members of the young man’s family who live in the same house complied with a request to quarantine, but he refused, said County Attorney Austin Price.
The man also refused a request from the Lake Cumberland District Health Department that he be tested, Price said.
Judge-Executive Jimmie W. Greene II said there was a concern that the man had been exposed to the virus that causes the COVID-19 respiratory illness but was out in the community.
The health department asked Price to seek an injunction forcing the man to stay home.
Price filed the petition late Friday, but didn’t know on Saturday whether a judge had signed it.
Price asked Sheriff Randy Waters to give the man a copy of the petition on Saturday and talk to him in hopes of getting him to stay home.
Price said he’s determined to keep the man from potentially exposing others to the virus.
“This is no different than an individual running with a loaded gun and pointing it at people,” he said of someone with the virus refusing to self-isolate.
The case is the second time Price sought a court order to keep someone at home after the person had been exposed to the virus. In that case, the woman complied and ultimately was cleared, Price said.
In another case in Kentucky, police posted an officer outside the house of a man from Nelson County who tested positive for the virus left a Louisville hospital against medical advice and refused to voluntarily stay home.
This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 9:08 PM.
