Health and social policy

Executive Order 13674: Revised List of Quarantinable Communicable Diseases

President: Barack Obama

Broadened the quarantinable category for severe acute respiratory syndromes to cover dangerous emerging respiratory diseases.

Status: In effect.

Is Executive Order 13674 still in effect? Yes. Active amendment to the federal quarantine disease list, later supplemented by EO 14047 adding measles.

What does Executive Order 13674 do?

EO 13674 amended EO 13295 by defining severe acute respiratory syndromes broadly enough to cover diseases capable of person-to-person spread that could cause a pandemic or serious mortality or morbidity. That formulation supported federal quarantine authority during emerging respiratory outbreaks. It remains part of the list, which EO 14047 supplemented in 2021 by adding measles.

Administration position: Listing a disease permits federal apprehension, examination and quarantine under law; it does not automatically order every exposed person confined or eliminate due-process protections.
SignedJuly 31, 2014
Base orderEO 13295
AuthorityPublic Health Service Act section 361(b)

Before and after

Before the order

The list referred more narrowly to SARS as a named disease.

After the order

The category could encompass new severe respiratory syndromes meeting defined transmission and severity criteria.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
HHS and CDCExercise quarantine powers when legal criteria are metContinuing
PresidentAmend the disease list on HHS recommendationContinuing
IndividualsComply with valid isolation or quarantine ordersCase-specific

What happened next

EO 13295 established the modern list.

EO 13674 broadened the respiratory category.

EO 14047 added measles.