§ 7–133. Persons believed to be carriers of communicable diseases — Order for removal.

(a) Whenever the Mayor, after consultation with the Director of the Department of Health, has probable cause to believe that a person is affected with a communicable disease or is a carrier of a communicable disease and that the person’s presence in the general population is likely to cause death or seriously impair the health of others, the Mayor may, by written order, direct the removal of that person for the purpose of isolation, quarantine, or treatment. The order shall state a place of detention within the District of Columbia or outside of the District of Columbia; provided, that any place of detention outside the District of Columbia is under the supervision of the District of Columbia government.

(b) The order shall be executed by a member of the Metropolitan Police Department or any designated employee of the District of Columbia. The person executing the order shall inform the person subject to the order of its contents and provide the person with a copy of the order.

(c) Whenever the Mayor, after consultation with the Director of the Department of Health, has probable cause to believe that one or more groups of people at one or more locations are affected with a communicable disease and that the group’s ability to move freely in the general population is likely to cause death or seriously impair the health of others, the Mayor may, by written order, direct the removal or detention of any such group for the purpose of isolation, quarantine, or treatment. The order shall state the bounds of the area subject to the order, and the person or persons executing the order shall inform, by reasonable means, all persons within the bounds of the detention area of the contents of the order and post a copy of the order in a conspicuous place in the bounds of the detention area.

(Aug. 11, 1939, ch. 601, § 3; Aug. 8, 1946, 60 Stat. 919, ch. 871, § 2; Aug. 1, 1950, 64 Stat. 393, ch. 513, § 1; Oct. 17, 2002, D.C. Law 14-194, § 902(b), 49 DCR 5306.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 6-119.

1973 Ed., § 6-119a.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 7-134 and § 7-137.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 14-194 rewrote the section which had read as follows: “§ 7-133. Persons believed to be carriers of communicable diseases—Order for removal. ”Whenever the Director of the Department of Human Services has probable cause to believe that any person is affected with any communicable disease or is a carrier of communicable disease and that the continuance of such person in the place where he may be is likely to be dangerous to the lives or health of other persons, or that by reason of the noncooperation or carelessness of such person the public health is likely to be endangered, the Director of the Department of Human Services may by written order direct the removal by any designated officer or employee of the Department of Human Services or by any member of the Metropolitan Police force of such person to and the detention of such person in any place or institution in the District of Columbia designated by the Director of the Department of Human Services, or any institution located without the District of Columbia which may be designated by the Director of the Department of Human Services, and which is under the supervision of the government of the District of Columbia or any agency thereof. Such officer, employee, or member so designated in such order shall take such person into his custody and shall remove such person to such place or institution as may be designated in such order. Such officer, employee, or member shall immediately make known to such person the contents of such order, and also shall deliver to such person a true copy of such order.”

Editor's Notes

Office of Director of Public Health abolished: See Historical and Statutory Notes following § 7-101.

Health Department abolished: See Historical and Statutory Notes following § 7-180.