A Rutland man who was quarantined for the past three weeks since he returned from West Africa was released Monday, the state health department said.
Peter Italia, 61, was transported Monday to an undisclosed location, he said via a private Facebook message.
Italia said will not live in Rutland because of the negative publicity he has received there. People at his new home asked him not to allow reporters to visit and Italia offered no further information.
Tracy Dolan, the acting health commissioner, said Monday that Italia is free to go and is not required to return for monitoring. She said his new living arrangements are temporary but she could not provide specifics.
Italia sold his possessions, ended his lease and used all his savings to fly to Conakry, Guinea, in late September to observe the Ebola epidemic, which has killed more than 5,000 people. Italia went to observe the U.S. government response, he said.
Italia presents himself as a doctor although he is not licensed in Vermont. Aid groups in West Africa rejected his offers for help because he lacked proper medical credentials, he has said.
When Italia returned, Vermont officials met him at JFK airport in New York City and offered him a ride back to Vermont, where they then asked him to submit to a voluntary 21-day quarantine.
Italia has said his human rights were violated because he was “forced” into a voluntary quarantine with the threat of criminal charges or fines. State officials maintain the isolation was voluntary and necessary to protect public health.
Questions have also arisen about whether Italia suffers from mental illness because he claims he can heal patients using time travel.
Italia says he is not ill. Two doctors from Rutland Regional Medical Center evaluated his writings and Facebook posts and said it is “highly likely that he is mentally ill and is delusional.”
Dolan on Monday said, overall, she believes the state acted correctly in quarantining him. Italia’s mental status was not a factor in the decision to quarantine him, she said.
“I think that in this case it was the right thing to do to protect the public’s health and monitor this individual,” she said.
Dolan said the guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are not specific. States have the discretion to determine how individuals should be quarantined.
On Nov. 7, while Italia was in quarantine, the health department issued its interpretation of the CDC’s Nov. 3 Guidance for Monitoring and Movement of Persons with Potential Ebola Virus Exposure.
A legislative committee on health care plans to discuss the department’s emergency preparedness for Ebola and other infectious diseases Thursday.
It is tricky to quarantine people who exhibit no symptoms of a disease, Dolan said.
“In retrospect, it was the right thing to do. There are no perfect decisions in this, and we don’t have perfect information,” she said.
In the future, the health department will decide on a case-by-case basis how to handle other people who return to Vermont from West Africa, Dolan said. Low-risk people will likely be asked to monitor themselves and report to a doctor if they experience symptoms, such as a high fever.
The CDC deemed Italia to have “no known exposure” to Ebola, according to a CDC email sent to state officials and obtained by VTDigger through a public records request.
Dolan said Vermont officials considered him an “uncertain risk” because he traveled to Africa independent from any aid organization or other group. He presented himself as a physician and did not wear protective gear, Dolan said.
Chris Louras, the mayor of Rutland, said city and state handled the situation as best they could.
“However, I still contend that it never should have fallen to the state of Vermont or the city of Rutland to deal with this situation. I really believe this specific situation should have been taken care of at the national level,” Louras said.
The CDC protocols are inadequate for dealing with people with mental illness, Louras said.
Italia is welcome to live in Rutland, Louras said. “He will be welcomed back to the community with open arms,” he said.
