Virginia Code 32.1-48.014: Enforcement of orders of quarantine or isolation; penalties.
A. Any person who does not comply with a validly issued order of quarantine or order of isolation issued or prepared pursuant to this article shall be subject to the penalties provided in § 32.1-27, including, upon conviction, a Class 1 misdemeanor and payment of civil penalties.
Attorney's Note
Under the Virginia Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 misdemeanor | up to 12 months | up to $2,500 |
Terms Used In Virginia Code 32.1-48.014
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Isolation: means the physical separation, including confinement or restriction of movement, of an individual or individuals who are infected with or are reasonably suspected to be infected with a communicable disease of public health threat in order to prevent or limit the transmission of the communicable disease of public health threat to other uninfected and unexposed individuals. See Virginia Code 32.1-48.06
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, or association or any other legal entity. See Virginia Code 32.1-3
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
- Quarantine: means the physical separation, including confinement or restriction of movement, of an individual or individuals who are present within an affected area, as defined herein, or who are known to have been exposed or may reasonably be suspected to have been exposed to a communicable disease of public health threat and who do not yet show signs or symptoms of infection with the communicable disease of public health threat in order to prevent or limit the transmission of the communicable disease of public health threat to other unexposed and uninfected individuals. See Virginia Code 32.1-48.06
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
B. Any order of quarantine or isolation shall be enforced by law-enforcement agencies, as directed by the State Health Commissioner. Any enforcement authority directed to law-enforcement agencies by the Commissioner shall expressly include, but need not be limited to, the power to detain or arrest any person or persons identified as in violation of any order of quarantine or isolation, or for whom probable cause exists that he may fail or refuse to comply with any such order.
Any person or persons so detained shall be held in the least restrictive environment that can provide any required health care or other services for such person.
C. Every attorney for the Commonwealth shall have the duty to prosecute, without delay, any violation of this chapter in accordance with the penalties set forth in § 32.1-27.
D. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 264 et seq. and 42 C.F.R. Parts 70 and 71, any order of quarantine or isolation issued by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention affecting the Commonwealth or the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority may be enforced by local law-enforcement officers or officers of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority with jurisdiction over the facility involved in the quarantine or isolation order.