CDC Statement On Eviction Order in Areas of Substantial and High Transmission Media

 

Credit CDC

#16,102

Although if may face legal challenges due to the Supreme Court's ruling in late June that the CDC had `exceeded its existing statutory authority by issuing a nationwide eviction moratorium' -  stating that it required legislative action by congress instead - late yesterday the CDC issued (at the urging of the White House) a 60 day extension for the hardest hit areas of the nation. 

The CDC's statement follows:

CDC Issues Eviction Order in Areas of Substantial and High Transmission

Media Statement

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Contact: Media Relations
(404) 639-3286

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky today signed an order determining the evictions of tenants for failure to make rent or housing payments could be detrimental to public health control measures to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This order will expire on October 3, 2021 and applies in United States counties experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission levels of SARS-CoV-2.

The eviction moratorium allows additional time for rent relief to reach renters and to further increase vaccination rates. In the context of a pandemic, eviction moratoria—like quarantine, isolation, and social distancing—can be an effective public health measure utilized to prevent the spread of communicable disease. Eviction moratoria facilitate self-isolation and self-quarantine by people who become ill or who are at risk of transmitting COVID-19 by keeping people out of congregate settings and in their own homes.

CDC remains committed and will continue to explore and use all of the tools at our disposal to protect the health and well-being of Americans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The order can be found at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-eviction-declaration.html.

The below can be attributed to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky:

The emergence of the delta variant has led to a rapid acceleration of community transmission in the United States, putting more Americans at increased risk, especially if they are unvaccinated. This moratorium is the right thing to do to keep people in their homes and out of congregate settings where COVID-19 spreads. It is imperative that public health authorities act quickly to mitigate such an increase of evictions, which could increase the likelihood of new spikes in SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Such mass evictions and the attendant public health consequences would be very difficult to reverse.