New Jersey officials scrambled on Wednesday to finalize the protocols for handling aid workers, patients and travelers entering the U.S. from regions affected by the Ebola outbreak, a source familiar with the situation said.

Governor Chris Christie on Friday ordered a mandatory 21-day quarantine for medical staff and other people who had contact with infected patients.

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Since then, the public has been pressuring the state to release specific protocols with a threat of litigation from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, the Wall Street Journal detailed.

On Wednesday evening, officials began reviewing a multi-page document related to the Ebola issue, according to a state official. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and other agencies are looking at the file and government agencies began receiving orientations on protocols.

New Jersey needs to develop a detailed procedure for risk assessment and patient monitoring, public health experts stated. Some of those experts criticized the state's quarantine methods, saying they are not scientifically-based.

On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidelines that say health workers should be monitored for symptoms of Ebola when the return home. They should not be quarantined before the monitoring, CDC added.

Meanwhile, Gov. Christie is pushing for mandatory quarantines, calling the procedure a "common sense policy." He said the CDC will later on do the same.

The Department of defense and 12 other states announced that they have implemented monitoring for people entering the U.S. from Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and other countries affected by the Ebola outbreak. However, owing to the lack of preparation time, state departments still do not have a uniform method of implementing the quarantine policies.

The spotlight has been focused on Ebola quarantines since Kaci Hickox, a nurse affiliated with Doctors Without Borders, complained of "inhumane" treatment at University Hospital in Newark just this weekend. Although she had fever, tests for Ebola came out negative and officials discharged her on Monday.

James R. Gonzalez, the president of the said hospital, said using the indoor tent where Hickox was confined is the best way to isolate and treat Ebola patients. They will continue implementing the same quarantine method, Gonzalez stated.

Although the details of New Jersey's quarantine protocols are soon to be released, some of the state's lawmakers, including Democratic Assemblyman Herb Conaway, think they should undergo legislative review.

"This process should not be one that changes every couple of days," said Conaway.

TagsHealth Medical Pharma, Microbiology, Biology, medicine, quarantine