Sweeping Authority For Health Officers

Northern Advocate, 3 December 1947, Page 4

Sweeping Authority For Health Officers

WELLINGTON, Wed. (P.A.)—Sweeping authority is given to the medical officer of health in each district in New Zealand under section 76 of the Health Act, 1920, to deal with the present outbreak of infantile paralysis.

A medical officer of health may declare any land, building or thing to be insanitary and may prohibit the use for any specified purpose of any such land, building or thing. He may cause any insanitary building to be pulled down and its timber and other materials destroyed or disposed of as he thinks fit. Power is given to destroy infected animals. MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS

Persons may be required to submit themselves for medical examinations, and a health officer may require persons, places, building, ships, animals and things to be isolated, quarantined or disinfected.

Persons, ships, animals or things may be forbidden to come or be brought to any port or place in the health district from any port or place which is. or is supposed to be, infected. A health officer may forbid persons to leave the health district in which they are isolated or quarantined until they have been medically examined and found to be free from infectious disease.

A health officer may also forbid the discharge of sewage of any description into any watercourse, stream, lake or source of water supply. He may use or authorise any local authority to use as a temporary site for a special hospital or place of isolation or quarantine ground any reseiwe of endowment suitable for the purpose. BAR ASSEMBLIES By order published in a newspaper circulating in the health district, a health officer may require all theatres and other places of public amusement, all bars and private bars in premises licensed for the sale of liquor under the Licensing'Act, all billiard rooms, churches, reading rooms and public halls and other premises where people are accustomed to assemble for any purpose, to be closed until further order or for any fixed period. He may prohibit the congregation of people at any racecourse, recreation ground or other place. With or without publishing an order, a health officer may prohibit the admission of children under the age of •16 to any school. Sunday school, theatre or place of public amusement.