Delaware General Assembly

CHAPTER 60

STATE BOARD OF HEALTH

AN ACT to amend Chapter 25 of the Revised Code of the State of Delaware, as amended, for the better control by the State Board of Health of communicable diseases.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:

Section 1. That Chapter 25 of the Revised Code of the State of Delaware, as amended, be and the same is here- by further amended by striking out all of 756 A Section 21A, and by inserting in lieu thereof the following new Section to be known as 756A Section 21A:

756A Section 21A. The State Board of Health may by 756 A. S. 21A Regulation declare any disease to be a Notifiable Disease, whereupon the presence of this disease shall be reported to it by any physician, householder, parent, superintendent of any institution in which the patient may be, or by the patient himself, on forms to be provided for the purpose or otherwise. It may add or remove at any time the name of State Board of any disease to or from any list of diseases which it shall declare to be notifiable, and shall use every effort in order to see that all persons interested are made aware of the diseases which are upon the list. The regulations in respect to the Notifiable Diseases shall state the time within which the notification to the State Board of Health must be made, the individual by whom it is to be made, and the method, whether by writing, telegraph or telephone, in which it shall be made.

Section 2. That Chapter 25 of the Revised Code of the State of Delaware, as amended, be further amended by striking out all of 757 Section 22 thereof and by inserting in lieu thereof the following new Section to be known as 757 Section 22:

757 Section 22. From the list of Notifiable Diseases, the State Board of Health may at any time declare certain diseases to be communicable, and may by regulation lay down authority of State Board of the procedure which is to be followed by the patient or person suffering therefrom, the parents of the patient, the diseases householder, by the physician attending on the patient, or any individual brought into contact with or responsible for the care or maintenance of the patient, in order that the transference of the disease to other individual or individuals may be prevented. Such regulation respecting the Communicable Diseases shall provide for the quarantine or isolation of the patient, of any person or persons who have been exposed to the patient and therefore liable to have contracted the disease, or of any carrier of the disease ; for placarding by a suitable sign intended to be recognizable by the public, the premises, house, tenement or room in which the person ill of, or exposed to the disease, may be ; and for any other matter relating to the care of and due to the illness of the patient from such a communicable disease while the patient is living and ill from the disease, or to the disposal of his body when dead ; for the removal of the patient from, and his return to school ; or for any other matter or procedure of interest in the protection of the public.

When a house or other place is quarantined on account of contagious disease, it shall be the duty of the State Board of Health having jurisdiction to provide for all persons confined in such house or place, food, fuel, and all other necessaries of life, including medical attendance, medicine, and nurses, when necessary; the expenses so incurred, except those for disinfection, quarantine or other measures strictly for the protection of the public, when properly certified to by the Executive Secretary of the State Board of Health, or Health Officer where there is no Board of Health, shall be paid by the person or persons quarantined, when able to make such payment, and when not, by the city, town or county in which he or they were quarantined.

Any person violating the provision of the regulation made under Section 21 or 22 hereof, may be proceeded against in a Magistrate's Court, and on the production of satisfactory evidence shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon Magistrates conviction thereof shall be fined not less than Ten and not more than Fifty Dollars. All fines recovered under this Section of the Act shall be paid by the Magistrate before Fines paid to whom the case was tried to the Treasurer of the State of Delaware and applied to the General Fund of the State. The costs in all cases shall be paid by the person fined. Any person charged before any Justice of the Peace or other Magistrate under these Sections or any regulation made thereunder, shall have a right to appeal to the Superior PP Court of the County. The Bond and all proceedings under said appeal shall be the same as is prescribed under Section 53 of Chapter 74 of the Revised Code of the State of Delaware.

Approved April 9, 1931.