The Obama administration has come under fire for the way it has handled the health challenge posed by the Ebola virus. With Congress out of session for the November elections, lawmakers have taken it upon themselves to impose statewide restrictions to prevent an outbreak.

The lack of a coordinated U.S. response to Ebola can perhaps be attributed to the federal system's weakness that allows authority over national concerns - such as the public health challenge presented by Ebola - to the lower government tiers.

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Such was the case in New York and New Jersey when Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie on Friday enforced a 21-day mandatory quarantine for all healthcare personnel who had come in direct contact with Ebola patients or those returning from Ebola-stricken regions.

A similar order has also been imposed in Florida and Illinois where Govs. Rick Scott and Pat Quinn are seeking re-election.

The politicization of Ebola may also explain how Cuomo and Christie recanted their decision days after.

New York Mayor Bill De Blasio and Health Commissioner Mary Bassett had reportedly been angry for not being informed of the policy in advance, which coincidentally also underscores the lack of communication between city and state officials.

Cuomo changed tack and announced on Sunday that healthcare workers from West Africa that exhibited no symptoms for the virus would still be quarantined and monitored but in the comfort of their homes.

Likewise, Christie on Monday acquiesced to discharge Kaci Hickox, a returning nurse from Sierra Leone and the first person subjected to New Jersey's mandatory 3-week quarantine. Hickox had made waves after she lambasted Christie and threatened him with a lawsuit for keeping her in isolation despite showing no symptoms and testing negative for Ebola.

But the lawmakers' unilateral decisions aimed at asserting visibility among constituents may be counterproductive, said Daniel W. Drezner of the Washington Post.

The White House has discouraged against imposing a statewide mandatory quarantine, citing unintended consequences for enforcing policies not backed on science, CBS News reported.

Unreasonable isolation measures may discourage healthcare workers from volunteering in the fight against the virus in West Africa, said Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The best way to prevent an Ebola outbreak in the U.S. is to cut it at the source, he added, referring to West Africa where most of the epidemic has been concentrated.

TagsEbola in US, Andrew Cuomo, Chris Christie, Politicization of Ebola, politics, midterm elections