A Washington state woman who repeatedly refused a judge's orders to isolate or take medication for tuberculosis was taken into custody Thursday, more than three months after a rare civil arrest warrant was issued.
The woman, who was identified as V.N. in court papers, was identified, according to the court documents. He was detained and placed into a negative pressure room at his jail, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department said.
The room is specially equipped for isolation, testing and treatment, said the Tacoma-Pierce County Public Health Department.
Moss Jr., a sheriff's spokesman, said v.n. police had been pursuing Moss for several months. He will not face criminal charges but has been told to stay in the jail for at least 45 days.
Depending on her treatment, she may leave early or stay later, he said.
Moss did not respond to questions about when the woman was taken into custody or where she was found.
We are hopeful she will choose to get the life-saving treatment she needs to treat her tuberculosis, the health department said in a statement. In a statement, his lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.
Philip Sorenson ordered V.N. to go to court. s involuntary detention on January 19th, 2022, after finding that health officials had made reasonable efforts to obtain voluntary compliance with public health rules for tuberculosis, a communicable disease that is deadly and contagious and can spread through the air when people cough or sneeze.
Public health officials said they had gone to Sorenson 16 times and asked him to enforce his detention order with a contempt warrant, a move the department called a last resort. Sorenson's defense lawyer signed the warrant on February 24.
According to a declaration from a corrections official that was filed with the court, authorities began surveilling V.N. the warrant was issued in March and executed in a safe manner. She watched her leave her home and board a city bus and went to a local casino, the official said. She didn't get into custody and authorities have declined to say why.
On May 19 after V.N., there was a protest against the government. Sorenson also failed to appear at a court hearing last month and said the warrant remained in effect.
Nearly 100,000 cases of tuberculosis were reported annually in the United States in the early 1950s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The city's public health department reports that Pierce County has around 20 active cases of the disease annually.