(a) Upon any petition by the State Health Commissioner, or that official’s designee, for an order that a person or persons appear before the court to determine whether isolation is necessary to protect the public health from the risk of infection with a communicable disease of public health significance, the provisions of §§ 32.1-48.03, 32.1-48.04, and related sections of Article 3.01 of Title 32.1 of the Code of Virginia must be followed.
Rule 7A:16.Isolation Proceedings under Article 3.01 of Title 32.1 of the Code of Virginia; Communicable Diseases of Public Health Significance.
Part Seven A: General District Courts – In General · Last amended 2022 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceRule 7A:16 requires a General District Court to follow the Code of Virginia’s isolation-proceeding statutes when the State Health Commissioner petitions for an order determining whether a person must be isolated over a communicable disease, and directs the court to protect everyone’s health and safety, including through remote hearings and protective equipment.
Full Text of Rule 7A:16
(b) The court should hold hearings under this rule in a manner to protect the health and safety of individuals subject to any such order or quarantine or isolation, court personnel, counsel, witnesses, and the general public. To this end, the court may take measures including, but not limited to, ordering the hearing to be held by telephone or video conference or ordering those present to take appropriate precautions, including wearing personal protective equipment.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 7A:16 governs a specific and serious kind of proceeding: a petition by the State Health Commissioner, or the Commissioner’s designee, asking the court to determine whether isolating a person is necessary to protect the public from a communicable disease of public health significance. When that petition comes before a General District Court, Rule 7A:16(a) requires the court to follow the procedures set out in §§ 32.1-48.03, 32.1-48.04, and the related sections of Article 3.01 of Title 32.1 of the Code of Virginia, rather than the General District Court’s ordinary civil procedures.
Rule 7A:16(b) addresses how the hearing itself should run, given what is at stake. The court should conduct these hearings in a way that protects the health and safety of the person subject to any isolation or quarantine order, along with court personnel, counsel, witnesses, and the public. To do that, the rule authorizes measures including, but not limited to, holding the hearing by telephone or video conference, or ordering everyone present to take appropriate precautions, such as wearing personal protective equipment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers a proceeding under Rule 7A:16?
A petition by the State Health Commissioner, or the Commissioner’s designee, asking the court to determine whether isolating a person is necessary to protect the public from the risk of infection with a communicable disease of public health significance.
What procedures govern an isolation proceeding under Rule 7A:16?
Rule 7A:16(a) requires the court to follow §§ 32.1-48.03, 32.1-48.04, and the related provisions of Article 3.01 of Title 32.1 of the Code of Virginia.
Can the court hold an isolation hearing by video instead of in person?
Yes. Rule 7A:16(b) allows the court to order the hearing held by telephone or video conference as one of the measures available to protect the health and safety of everyone involved.
Whose health and safety is the court supposed to consider under Rule 7A:16(b)?
The individual subject to any quarantine or isolation order, court personnel, counsel, witnesses, and the general public — Rule 7A:16(b) names all of them.
Can the court require people to wear protective equipment during an isolation hearing?
Yes. Rule 7A:16(b) lists ordering those present to take appropriate precautions, including wearing personal protective equipment, among the measures the court may use.
Amendment History
Last amended by Order dated June 13, 2022; effective August 12, 2022.
Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia, published by the
Supreme Court of Virginia. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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