The federal government has the power to quarantine Americans it believes may have contact with the Ebola virus, says legal analyst Kendall Coffey.
"They've got to follow the procedures, but they can impose quarantines," Coffey, a founding member of the Coffey Burlington law firm in Miami, said Thursday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
Story continues below video.
Note: Watch Newsmax TV now on DIRECTV Ch. 349 and DISH Ch. 223 Get Newsmax TV on your cable system – Click Here Now
"It's within the power of the federal government and you can easily imagine why.
"It's because somebody may think they're fine, but they could be a walking time bomb if they're let loose out into the public."
The first confirmed case of Ebola in the U.S. is a man who traveled from Liberia on Sept. 20, and was diagnosed with the virus on Sept. 28.
The infected patient, who is currently receiving treatment in a Dallas hospital, was originally treated in an emergency room and sent home with antibiotics, even though he had told hospital workers he had recently traveled from Africa.