A House committee is advancing a bill that allows court action against people who are posing a public health threat. State health officials say it’s a tool to help mitigate coronavirus spread.
Senate Bill 3 gives the health department authority to act for those who test positive for COVID-19, tuberculosis or diseases involved in a declared public health emergency. Representatives amended the bill to throw out a sunset clause.
Health Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon says the bill is meant for cases where people knowingly have an infectious disease.
“Public health orders are used in situations when there is an imminent threat to the health of others because of a person with an infectious disease will not comply with medical recommendations.”
Malsam-Rysdon says officials have issued 10 public health orders since the beginning of the pandemic.
“In all 10 of those cases, when people knew there was a consequence to not follow the order to isolate, they followed the order.”
Malsam-Rysdon says the proposal does not require people under a directive to vaccinate.
Opponents say the bill is government overreach, but Malsam-Rysdon says diseases like COVID-19 can require interventions.
“We’ve seen more than 108,000 cases of COVID in South Dakota since this pandemic began. We’ve also seen more than 1,700 individuals die from COVID. When we talk about mortality, we know that older people are especially infected. In fact, 20 percent of individuals who are 80 or older who contact COVID, will die from COVID.”
The health department lists COVID-19 as the third-highest cause of death in South Dakota, behind heart disease and cancer.
The bill passed out of committee. It moves to the Senate floor.