The Coronavirus is steadily spreading across cities and countries, with new cases appearing each day. Worldwide panic is setting in and drastic measures to combat the illness are being put in place, one method being quarantine. The method first appeared in ancient civilizations when the sick were isolated to prevent the spread of leprosy. The concept is now being used again by countries worldwide to prevent people from getting in, or getting out of infected areas.
“It seems very hard to track, especially if it is not noticed for eight days,” sophomore Hailey Menzies said. “I do not know how to feel about the quarantine, because it is to contain the spreading, but I am also afraid of being trapped near the virus.”
The fear of the virus spreading is apparent in many places, but once infected, living in quarantine is a must. Life in isolation can be intense for the patients, but there are accommodations being made to make it as comfortable as a quarantine can get. Video documentation was done to show conditions in one of the isolation centers.
“We are told that if we go into any communal areas that we must keep our masks on at all times,” isolation center patron Kharn Lambert said to Sky News. “We are allowed to take them off in our rooms.”
The video featured other aspects of life in isolation as well, such as provided meals, showers and privacy. Isolation leaders are advising those infected to stay as isolated as possible, even from each other, to prevent possible further contamination.
According to livescience.com, quarantine was not always such a humane practice. In the 19th century, quarantining was abused and used for political and economic reasons. Places would deny entry to anyone who had been near an outbreak recently. The concept of isolating people with a contagious illness has morphed and changed over time and the active quarantine of the Coronavirus is not much different.
Protecting a population from contamination is the entire goal of a quarantined area. As the Coronavirus spreads it gets increasingly difficult to track and treat it, containing it is essential to protect the public and treat those who are infected.
