Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
South Pasadena Woman Could Be Jailed For Refusing Measles Quarantine
A South Pasadena graduate student is refusing to follow health officials' orders to be quarantined after her sister contracted measles linked to Disneyland.
Ylsa Tellez, 26, told KABC that she feels perfectly fine, and that she doesn't think "it's necessary for me to be on house arrest." Her younger sister, 24-year-old Maura Tellez, is one of the 26 people who got the highly-contagious disease after visiting Disneyland's theme parks in Anaheim. Maura said she is getting over her illness and is no longer contagious.
On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contacted Ylsa and a local health department visited her. Both asked her to get vaccinated and be quarantined. They also warned her that if she didn't follow their orders, she could get sent to jail or have a misdemeanor on her record, Ylsa said. Her mother is supporting her daughter's decision, and said "it's not nice" that they're threatening her.
Ysla said that she's going to visit a doctor to see if she needs to get a measles vaccine, and that if she starts feeling sick at all, then she would definitely stay in.
California's Department of Public Health said visitors to Disneyland and adjacent California Adventure Park may have been exposed to measles between the dates of Dec. 15 and Dec. 20.
Measles is a respiratory disease that spreads through the air through coughing and sneezing. A person who's contracted measles can be contagious up to four days before and after the rash begins to show. The symptoms for this disease include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, and a rash covering the entire body, and will appear about a week to two weeks after being infected. There's no treatment for measles, but most people usually recover after a few weeks.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?