The recent actions taken by some US states to impose mandatory quarantines on health workers returning from treating Ebola victims in West Africa have been criticized by health authorities and the United Nations as extreme. The top health official in charge of Washington's response to Ebola warned against treating doctors and nurses who travel to West Africa to combat Ebola as outcasts. The United Nations spoke out against the new restrictions imposed by certain US states on health workers returning from Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, stating that these individuals should not be stigmatized and should be supported. Additionally, American soldiers returning from West Africa are being isolated, despite showing no symptoms of infection or believed exposure to the virus, in order to reassure their communities of their health safety. The Army has placed around twelve soldiers, including Major General Darryl Williams, in isolation upon their return to their home base in Vicenza, Italy. They are staying in a separate area on the base and are not allowed contact with the general population or their families. Williams emphasized in an interview with Reuters that they are not interacting with Ebola patients, but are instead constructing treatment units to assist in the fight against the epidemic. Dr. Jeff Duchin, Washington State epidemiologist and chairman of the public health committee of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, stated that up to 4,000 U.S. troops may be deployed on the mission, emphasizing that isolation is not appropriate from a public health perspective. The decision to deploy troops goes beyond established military protocols and coincided with the Obama administration's efforts to discourage precautionary quarantines imposed by some states on healthcare workers returning from Ebola-affected countries. US federal health officials have updated guidelines for returning doctors and nurses, with Dr. Thomas Frieden of the CDC calling for isolation of those at highest risk for Ebola but recommending daily monitoring without isolation for most medical workers returning from the epidemic's epicenter. Frieden emphasized that the CDC's decisions are based on science and experience. Frieden stated that guidelines and recommendations will be adjusted as science and experience evolve. The new guidelines from the Obama administration are not obligatory, and states can implement stricter policies if desired. Some states have imposed tougher measures due to concerns about the Ebola threat. Australia recently implemented a ban on visas from Ebola-affected countries in West Africa, despite not having any Ebola cases. Critics argue that the ban is politically motivated and could create unnecessary fear. Medical experts emphasize that Ebola is not easily transmitted and is not airborne. Mandatory quarantines have been criticized by various groups as hindering efforts to combat the disease in West Africa. UN officials have expressed concern that discouraging foreign health workers from assisting in the region would be detrimental.