A Kentucky couple was placed under house arrest after wife, Elizabeth Linscott, tested positive for COVID-19 and refused to sign the self-quarantine document.
What We Know:
- According to Linscott, she was tested on July 11 as a precaution because she was planning to visit her parents and grandparents in Michigan.
- She claims that she never denied self-quarantine but did not agree with the wording of the document presented to her and, therefor, refused to sign it. The Self-Isolation and Controlled Movement Agreed Order presented to Linscott mandated that she notify the health department if she were to leave her home for any reason and report daily check-ins.
- After contacting her on the phone to get an explanation for the refusal and being hung up on, the Hardin County Health Department contacted her via text notifying her that her refusal would result in law enforcement getting involved.
- In an interview with ABC, the Linscotts expressed that the County Sheriff’s Department and a Health Department representative came to their home on July 16 to issue court orders to isolate and quarantine the couple and their daughter. They also issued the couple ankle monitors that will notify law enforcement if the family travels more than 200 feet away from their home.
- The couple claims the house arrest is unlawful and they plan to get an attorney.
- According to an interview with The Hill, the sheriff’s office claims they did not install location monitoring devices on anyone in Hardin County and that they have not had any cases involving the enforcement of a failure to isolate for positive COVID-19 testing.
- The family has faced harsh comments on the internet since the incident but Elizabeth Linscott believes it’s due to the couple’s open support for President Trump. Stating in an interview, “It has made us a target for people to say, honest to God, I know this might be a little bit of an extreme, but racist things towards us because we’re Trump supporters. And I know that’s a big ordeal with what’s going on right now.”
- The couple are not the first to face such repercussions. In late March, Kentucky Circuit judges ordered at least four COVID-19 patients to wear ankle monitors for allegedly breaking self-quarantine orders.
- In April, the Kanawha County (WV) Circuit Court approved the sheriff’s department to issue ankle monitors to COVID-19 patients that refuse self-quarantine. Marathon County (WI) and the state of Hawaii have also considered ankle monitors to better track and control the virus.
As the pandemic progresses, the option of monitoring patients becomes an ongoing conversation. Monitoring companies, like Shadowtrack Technologies Inc., are having more conversations with government officials regarding the possibilities.
