Is an isolation or quarantine order issued by a local health director “portable”? That is, can it follow a person from one local health department’s jurisdiction to another?

Local health directors may exercise their legal powers and duties only in the single- or multi-county areas that are served by their local health departments. An isolation or quarantine order issued by a local  health director is probably not valid outside the local health director’s jurisdiction. However, this does not mean that a person who is subject to an order is relieved of the obligation to comply with the terms of the order—the control measures—when he or she crosses the county line. G.S. 130A-144(f) requires all persons to comply with communicable disease control measures adopted by the Commission for Health Services. This law applies throughout the state. So, if a person is diagnosed with tuberculosis in Orange county and told of the control measures while there, he is still obligated to comply with those control measures when he moves to Chatham county. Furthermore, if he violates control measures while in Chatham county, an Orange county isolation order could be used as evidence that he knew he had tuberculosis and was subject to control measures. Thus, for practical purposes, whether the order is "portable" may not matter much.