After chickenpox outbreak at Asheville Waldorf, county quarantine order challenged in court

ASHEVILLE — First came the rash, then the quarantine — and with it, a legal challenge.

The late October outbreak of chickenpox at Asheville Waldorf School prompted Buncombe County health officials in early November to call for the quarantine of 104 of school's 152 students. Nearly 75 percent hadn't been vaccinated for the virus.

That order expired Tuesday, though it is unlikely to mark the end of county concerns at the private West Asheville school that serves toddlers through sixth graders. Buncombe health officials will continue to monitor conditions when students return from Thanksgiving break next week.

In a Nov. 1 order sent to the parents of unvaccinated children, Buncombe County Health Director Jannine Shaphard wrote that "the intent of this quarantine is to decrease the risk of transmission of the illness and protect the health of non-immune students, staff and community members."

Read more: https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2018/11/20/chickenpox-asheville-waldorf-school-quarantine-court-challenge-religious-freedom-civil-liberities/2069844002/