Quarantine is a set of public health strategies that detain, isolate, or conditionally release individuals and populations exposed to and/or infected with contagious diseases. It includes contact surveillance, physical segregation of people presumed not yet ill and for durations that exceed the likely incubation period of disease, and other control measures such as limiting the movement of infected persons or imposing cordon sanitaire barriers (i.e., closing a geographic area with strict enforcement to prevent movement in or out).
The practice of quarantine has a long history. It was first introduced in the United States during the smallpox outbreak of 1663, with New York City building a quarantine station on Bedloe’s Island and later creating the Philadelphia Lazaretto. Quarantine also played an important role during the 1918 flu pandemic, the diphtheria run to Nome in 1925 and the SARS outbreak of 2003.
The use of quarantine is often controversial, with questions about when it is appropriate, who should be subjected to it and what are its impacts. Guidelines for implementing quarantine can vary from country to country and may change over time as understanding of the pathogen’s transmissibility improves.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of designing and rapidly executing scientific research focused on quarantine during a public health emergency. Research during the response phase should address key themes such as identifying and communicating risk, providing clear messaging on the rationale for quarantine, financial compensation, food, and social and psychological support to people subject to quarantine.
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