1975-0008

PUBLISHING DETAILS Arrangement of Regulations Regulation Prohibited trades and callings Regulation 1 Citation These regulations may be cited as the Public Health (Communicable Diseases) Regulations. Definitions In these regulations — “carrier” means a person or animal who, without symptoms or apparent signs of a communicable disease, harbours the specific infective agent and may serve as a source of infection; “communicable disease”, “contagious disease”, and “infectious disease” mean a disease that is due to an infectious agent or its toxic products which is transmissible directly or indirectly to a well person from an infected person or animal or through the agency of an intermediate animal, host, vector or the inanimate environment and includes any disease declared notifiable by the Chief Medical Officer; “contact” means a person who has presumably been exposed to risk of infection from a communicable disease and is within the incubation period of that disease; Regulation 3 “disinfection” means the destroying of pathogenic agents by chemical, physical or other means; “hospital” means any premises or vessel for the reception of patients whether permanently or temporarily used for that purpose, and includes a nursing home; “isolation” means the separation of an infected person from other persons in such manner as will prevent the direct or indirect conveyance or transmission of infecting agents or organisms to other persons; “isolation station” includes any hospital, house or part of a house or place in which any patient or contact is isolated; “medical officer” means a medical practitioner employed as such by the Government; “medical practitioner” means a health practitioner qualified under the Health Practitioners’ Law (1995 Revision) to practise medicine; “notifiable disease” means a disease declared notifiable by the Chief Medical Officer; “public building” means a building used or constructed or adapted to be used, either ordinarily or occasionally, as a church or chapel or other place of public worship, as a hospital, almshouse, college, school, theatre, public concert room, public ballroom, public lecture room or public exhibition room, as a market or as a public place of assembly for persons admitted thereto by ticket or otherwise, or any other place used for any public purpose; and “Schedule” means the Schedule to these regulations. Communicable diseases For the purpose of these regulations the following are deemed to be communicable diseases — Anthrax (malignant pustule) Cholera Dengue Diphtheria Dysentery-bacillary Encephalitis (viral) Food poisoning Gastro-enteritis Haemorrhagic fever Hepatitis (epidemic catarrhal jaundice) Regulation 4 Kwashiorkor (Grade III malnutrition) Leprosy Leptospirosis Malaria Meningitis: cerebrospinal meningococcal lymphocytic Plague Poliomyelitis: paralytic non-paralytic Psittacosis Rabies Rickettsiosis: (all forms) Rubella Salmonella infections Small pox Trachoma tuberculosis (all forms) Typhus Typhoid fever Para-typhoid fever - Undulant fever (Brucellosis) - Viral encephalitis - Yellow fever. Communicable diseases are notifiable For the purpose of these regulations, the notifiable diseases are the communicable diseases. Duty of occupiers, etc. Whenever any member of a family, inmate or employee of any premises is suffering from any sickness of which the symptoms create a reasonable suspicion that it is a notifiable disease it is the duty of the occupier or other person for the time being in charge of the premises to consult a medical practitioner or inform a medical officer. Regulation 6 Duty of medical practitioners attending patients Every medical practitioner who has reason to believe that any person professionally attended by him is suffering from a notifiable disease or any sickness of which the signs and symptoms create a reasonable suspicion that it is a notifiable disease shall forthwith inform the occupier of the premises and every person necessary or in immediate attendance on the patient of the infectious nature of the disease and the precautions to be taken, and forthwith give notice in the prescribed form to a Duty of doctors in hospitals Where, in any hospital, any person is found by any medical practitioner employed, engaged or attached (whether in an honorary capacity of otherwise) thereto to be suffering from or suspected to be suffering from a notifiable disease, the doctor for the time being in charge of the hospital shall forthwith give notice in the prescribed form to the Chief Medical Officer. Duty of medical practitioners generally Every medical practitioner who, by post-mortem examination or otherwise, becomes aware or suspects that any deceased person was affected with a notifiable disease shall forthwith give notice in the prescribed form to the Chief Medical Officer. Duty of masters of ships When any person on board a ship in territorial waters is suffering from any sickness of which the signs and symptoms create a reasonable suspicion that it is a notifiable disease, the master of the ship shall notify a medical officer. Forms to be prescribed

(1) The Chief Medical Officer may prescribe forms for the purpose of notification, which shall be used in all cases to which they apply, and all information and all particulars required by each form shall be given by the person compiling the form. (2) A medical officer shall, upon application by a medical practitioner, supply him gratuitously with such forms. Reports to Chief Medical Officer

(1) A medical officer on receiving notice of a notifiable disease shall forthwith take such steps as are necessary to satisfy himself of the diagnosis and, as soon as he is satisfied or if he remains doubtful as to the diagnosis, he shall forthwith forward the notification to the Chief Medical Officer. (2) The Chief Medical Officer shall keep an accurate written record of all cases or suspected cases of notifiable diseases — Regulation 12 (a) reported to him; or (b) of which he has knowledge. Powers of medical officers

A medical officer may — (a) take all steps necessary for giving effect to these regulations; (b) enter any premises; examine and inspect any premises and do such things therein or thereto as may be necessary for preventing the spread of disease; (d) examine, treat or immunise or cause to be examined, treated or immunised any case, suspected case or carrier of a communicable disease; (e) examine, treat or immunise or cause to be examined, treated or immunised any contact; (f) isolate any person suffering from a communicable disease either in the house in which he is residing or elsewhere until such time as the patient is no longer infectious; (g) isolate contacts or persons attending on a case, or a carrier, or place them under surveillance, subject to such conditions as the medical officer considers necessary; and isolation may be substituted at any time instead of surveillance if the medical officer is satisfied that the conditions of surveillance are not being compiled with; (h) disinfect or destroy or cause to be disinfected or destroyed any clothes, bedding or other article belonging to a patient or contact which he believes capable of transmitting disease; (i) declare any premises in which a person suffering from a communicable disease resides to be an infected place and to affix a notice to that effect; (j) order the evacuation of any premises or house; (k) order the removal of any person suffering from a communicable disease from a ship to an isolation station or hospital; order the removal to hospital and detention in hospital of any person suffering from a communicable disease until such time as he is satisfied that the person is no longer infectious; (m) isolate or detain in hospital or elsewhere any person suffering from a communicable disease or any carrier who is incapable of taking proper precautions to prevent the spread of disease or to provide himself with proper accommodation or care; (n) enter any school and immunise any child or teacher; Regulation 13 (o) prohibit the sale of any food, milk or ice when he believes the consumption of such is likely to propagate a communicable disease; (p) order the anatomical examination of the body of any person who has died or is believed to have died from a communicable disease; (q) order the burial within a specified time of the body of any person who has died or is believed to have died from a communicable disease; and (r) immunise or treat any case or contact or other person if so directed by the Chief Medical Officer. Duties of persons generally

Whoever — (a) while suffering from a communicable disease, exposes himself in any public place or place of public resort or enters any public conveyance; (b) knowing or suspecting that he is suffering from a communicable disease or is a carrier, engages in any of the trades or callings specified in the employs a person, knowing that he is a person suffering or suspected to be suffering from one of the diseases mentioned in regulation 3, in any of the trades or callings mentioned in the Schedule; (d) knowing or suspecting that he is suffering from, is a contact or is a carrier of a communicable disease, enters, takes or uses any book, magazine or paper from any public library; (e) enters any house in which a person has died from a communicable disease before such house has been disinfected to the satisfaction of a (f) enters or leaves any isolation station in which a patient or contact suffering from a communicable disease is isolated until and unless authorised to do so; (g) being the parent or guardian of a child suffering or suspected to be suffering from a communicable disease or a contact, permit such child to attend any school without first having procured from a medical officer a certificate stating that, in his opinion, the child may attend school without undue risk of communicating the disease to others; (h) being the head teacher of any school knowing or suspecting that any child in his school is suffering from a communicable disease, permits such child to attend school until a certificate is presented to him signed by a medical officer stating that, in his opinion, the child may attend school without undue risk of communicating the disease to others; (i) gives, lends, sells, transmits or exposes, without previous disinfecting, any article which has been exposed to infection; Regulation 13 (j) returns to any library any book, paper or magazine which he suspects has been exposed to infection from a person suffering from a communicable disease, otherwise than through or at the direction of a medical officer; (k) takes or sends to any laundry any bedding, clothes or other articles which he knows to have been exposed to infection from a communicable disease unless they have first been disinfected to the satisfaction of a casts or permits to be cast into any dustbin any rubbish or refuse from any house in which there is a case of communicable disease unless it has been previously disinfected to the satisfaction of a medical officer; (m) fails, on giving up the occupancy of a house in which there has been residing, within the previous eight weeks, a person suffering from a communicable disease, to — (i) have such house and all articles therein disinfected to the satisfaction of a medical officer; (ii) give to the owner notice of the existence of such a person; and (iii) answer truthfully any question of the owner as to the existence of such a person; (n) leases or hires any house knowing that there has been a person suffering from a communicable disease residing therein within the previous eight weeks, until the house and all articles therein have been disinfected to the satisfaction of a medical officer; (o) when letting a house, makes a false statement as to the presence or absence of a person suffering from a communicable disease within the previous eight weeks having resided therein; (p) hires or uses any public conveyance or hearse for conveying the body of a person who has died from a communicable disease without first so informing the owner or driver; or being the owner or driver of such conveyance or hearse fails to report the same to a medical officer; (q) fails to bury, within twelve hours, the body which is under his care or keeping, of any person who has died from a communicable disease unless a medical officer has otherwise sanctioned; (r) holds or attends any wake over the body of a person who has died from a communicable disease; or (s) removes the body of a person who has died from a communicable disease in a hospital or isolation station without permission of a medical officer, and then only with such permission directly to the place of interment or to a mortuary; and a medical officer in granting such permission may impose such conditions as appear necessary to him, is guilty of an offence. Regulation 14 Special powers of the Chief Medical Officer

The Chief Medical Officer may — (a) establish suitable places as isolation stations, hospitals or convalescent homes; (b) provide treatment and medical facilities for persons suffering from communicable diseases, or contacts or carriers; provide ambulances and other vehicles considered necessary; (d) provide premises and the necessary equipment for the disinfection or destruction of infected articles; (e) provide temporary accommodation for persons compelled to leave their dwelling for the purpose of it being cleansed and disinfected; (f) provide for the removal, disinfection or destruction of rubbish, refuse or garbage from a house in which there is a person suffering from a communicable disease; (g) cleanse and disinfect any premises and articles therein; (h) disinfect, destroy or cause to be disinfected or destroyed any infected article, and pay compensation for any such article destroyed or damaged; (i) provide suitable places for the reception and interment of the dead; and (j) prohibit or limit the attendance at any school or public building of children or other persons if, in his opinion, conditions thereat are likely to prejudice the public health. Expenses to be recovered or paid from General Revenue

All expenses incurred by the Chief Medical Officer in relation to the communicable disease control shall be met from the General Revenue. Duty of police

Constables may, if so requested by the Chief Medical Officer, enforce compliance with these regulations and the Law, and in so doing to enter any premises without a warrant. Penal

Offences against these regulations are punishable under section 69(2) and (3) of the Law. Prohibited trades and callings The following are trades or callings in which a person who knows or suspects that he is suffering from a communicable disease, or is a carrier, shall not be engaged or be employed or undertake- (a) any trade or calling in which the person handles or comes in contact with articles of food or drink, drugs, medicines or tobacco; (b) any situation, calling or employment in which the person comes in contact with cows or other animals kept for the purpose of furnishing milk; any trade or calling in which the person handles or comes in contact with material made up as or intended to be made up into wearing apparel; (d) barber; (e) hairdresser; (f) driver of a public passenger vehicle; or (g) nurse. Publication in revised form authorised by the Governor in Council this 9th day of December, 1997. Carmena H. Parsons Clerk of Executive Council