Gov. Rick Scott defended his decision to monitor anyone coming from Ebola-affected countries, saying Monday it's "the right thing to do" to protect Floridians.
Appearing beside New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at a campaign event in Wellington, Scott said his executive order would ensure that the state wards off an outbreak and goes beyond actions by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"I want to make sure that ... we don't do what CDC did — they got behind," he said. "We're not going to get behind. We're going to be prepared."
Scott's weekend order gives state health officials authority to do twice-daily monitoring of individuals arriving from places the CDC designates as affected by Ebola.
"We've got 19.6 million people living in this state. I want them to be safe," Scott said. "I want the 100 million tourists that we get here to be safe. I want all of our health care workers, our first responders to be safe. If you go to a Ebola-infected area when you come back you ought to be monitored by the Department of Health. It's the right thing to do."
Federal health officials have been critical of quarantines of medical workers returning from West Africa, saying it could discourage volunteers from traveling to the danger zone.
