(1) For the purpose of preventing the outbreak or spread of any infectious disease, the medical officer of health may from time to time, if authorised to do so by the Minister or if a state of emergency has been declared under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 or while an epidemic notice is in force,—
(a) declare any land, building, or thing to be insanitary, and prohibit its use for any specified purpose:
(ea) if the spread of the disease would be a significant risk to the public, require people to report, or submit themselves for medical testing, at stated times and places:
(f) require persons, places, buildings, ships, vehicles, aircraft, animals, or things to be isolated, quarantined, or disinfected as he thinks fit:
(fa) if the spread of the disease would be a significant risk to the public, require people, places, buildings, ships, vehicles, aircraft, animals, or things to be tested as he or she thinks fit:
(g) forbid persons, ships, vehicles, aircraft, animals, or things 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 with any infectious disease:
(i) forbid the removal of ships, vehicles, aircraft, animals, or things from the health district, or from one port or part thereof to another, or from the place where they are isolated or quarantined, until they have been disinfected or examined and found to be free from infection:
(k) forbid the discharge of sewage, drainage, or insanitary matter of any description into any watercourse, stream, lake, or source of water supply:
(l) use or authorise any local authority to use as a temporary site for a special hospital or place of isolation any reserve or endowment suitable for the purpose, notwithstanding that such use may conflict with any trust, enactment, or condition affecting the reserve or endowment:
(1A) An order under paragraph (la) or (m) of subsection (1) does not apply to—
(1B) An order under paragraph (la) or (m) of subsection (1) may exempt people engaged in necessary work in the premises to which it relates.
(1C) If the medical officer of health publishes an order under subsection (1)(m) in a newspaper circulating in the health district, he or she must also make reasonable efforts to have the contents or gist of the order published by announcement broadcast by a television channel or radio station that can be received by most households in the health district.
(1D) The medical officer of health may publish in any other manner he or she thinks appropriate an order under paragraph (la) or (m) of subsection (1) or its gist.
(2) The medical officer of health, and any environmental health officer or other person authorised in that behalf by the medical officer of health, may at any time, with or without assistants, enter on any lands, buildings, or ships, and inspect the same and all things thereon or therein; and may do, with respect to any persons, places, lands, buildings, ships, animals, or things, whatever in the opinion of the medical officer of health is necessary or expedient for the purpose of carrying out the foregoing provisions of this section.
(3) In no case shall the medical officer of health, or any environmental health officer or assistant or other person, incur any personal liability by reason of anything lawfully done by him under the powers conferred by this section.
(4) If satisfied that it is desirable in the circumstances to do so, the Director-General may authorise a medical officer of health to operate in a stated area outside his or her district; and in that case, this section and section 71 apply as if the area is part of both his or her district and the district of which it is in fact part.
Subsection (1) was amended, as from 3 November 1964, by section 3 Health Amendment Act 1964 (1964 No 34) by inserting the words “or if a state of national major disaster has been declared under the Civil Defence Act 1962”
.
Subsection (1) was amended, as from 23 November 1973, by section 5(1) Health Amendment Act 1973 (1973 No 111) by substituting the words “civil defence emergency or a state of regional civil defence emergency”
for the words “major disaster”
.
Subsection (1) was amended, as from 1 December 2002, by section 117 Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 (2002 No 33) by substituting the words “a state of emergency has been declared under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002”
for the words “a state of national civil defence emergency or a state of regional civil defence emergency has been declared under the Civil Defence Act 1983”
.
Subsection (1) was amended, as from 19 December 2006, by section 5(1) Health Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 86) by inserting the words “or while an epidemic notice is in force”
after the words “the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002”
.
Subsection (1)(ea) was inserted, as from 19 December 2006, by section 5(2) Health Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 86).
Subsection (1)(f) was amended, as from 19 December 2006, by section 5(3) Health Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 86) by substituting the words “ships, vehicles, aircraft, animals, or things”
for the words “ships, animals, and things”
.
Subsection (1)(fa) was inserted, as from 19 December 2006, by section 5(4) Health Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 86).
Subsection (1)(g) was amended, as from 19 December 2006, by section 5(5) Health Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 86) by substituting the words “ships, vehicles, aircraft, animals, or things”
for the words “ships, animals, or things”
.
Subsection (1)(h) was amended, as from 19 December 2006, by section 5(6) Health Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 86) by substituting the words “require people to remain in”
for the words “Forbid persons to leave”
.
Subsection (1)(i) was amended, as from 19 December 2006, by section 5(5) Health Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 86) by substituting the words “ships, vehicles, aircraft, animals, or things”
for the words “ships, animals, or things”
.
Subsection (1)(la) was inserted, as from 19 December 2006, by section 5(7) Health Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 86).
A reference to the “Sale of Liquor Act 1962”
in subsection (1)(m) was substituted, as from 1 June 1963, for a reference to the “Licensing Act 1908”
pursuant to section 301(13) Sale of Liquor Act 1962 (1962 No 139). That reference was in turn substituted, as from 1 April 1990, by a reference to the “Sale of Liquor Act 1989”
pursuant to section 230(2) Sale of Liquor Act 1989 (1989 No 63).
Subsection (1)(m) was substituted, as from 19 December 2006, by section 5(7) Health Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 86).
Subsection (1)(n) and (o) was repealed, as from 19 December 2006, by section 5(7) Health Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 86).
Subsections (1A) to (1D) were inserted, as from 19 December 2006, by section 5(8) Health Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 86).
The words “Environmental Health Officer”
in subsections (2) and (3) were substituted, as from 26 July 1988, for the word “Inspector”
pursuant to section 2(4) Health Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 99).
Subsection (4) was inserted, as from 19 December 2006, by section 5(9) Health Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 86).