To Quarantine or Not To Quarantine: Ethical Commentary

Quarantine: voluntary or not?

By utilizing quarantine and isolation as public health tools we are in many ways battling twenty-first century pathogens with a fourteenth century toolbox. It is important for all to recognize the technical difference between the distinct public health measures of isolation and quarantine. Isolation is the separation and/or restricted movement of persons with a contagious disease from the large...

How to Exercise During Coronavirus Quarantine?

The COVID-19 pandemic caused stress and anxiety in many people that can be reduced by regular physical activity. Regular physical exercise is essential for health. In the absence of COVID-19 symptoms, no limitation in physical activity is recommended.  However, parameters such as frequency, intensity, type, and time need to be considered to prescribe the program and obtain the best results. Con...

Etymologia: Quarantine

Public health and ethical considerations in planning for quarantine.

effective, most feared, and most misunderstood methods of controlling communicable disease outbreaks. Its etymological roots are traceable to 14th century public health practices requiring ships arriving in Venice from plague-infected ports to sit at anchor for 40 days (hence, quar-antine) before disembarking their surviving passengers. While in recent times the use of quarantine has been more ...

Quarantine Stressing Voluntary Compliance

A 1-day table-top exercise in San Diego, California, in December 2004 emphasized voluntary compliance with home quarantine to control an emerging infectious disease outbreak. The exercise heightened local civilian-military collaboration in public health emergency management. Addressing concerns about lost income by residents in quarantine was particularly challenging.