Isolation And Quarantine

Principles

Basic Principles

These principles represent the best thinking and research of a range of experts: Plan for all diseases meriting isolation and quarantine according to the President's Executive Order 13295 and assess which diseases would warrant I&Q in your local jurisdiction.

• The diseases meriting isolation and quarantine are SARS, cholera, diphtheria, infectious tuberculosis, plague, smallpox, yellow fever, viral hemorrhagic fevers, and the spectrum of pandemic influenza.
• Make the plan congruent with other preparedness responses, such as mass vaccination.
• Limit the duration of I & Q to the minimum necessary length and use the least restrictive measures possible.
• Encourage voluntary over compulsory involvement in I & Q. Where compulsion is required, it must meet strict ethical principles around due process and respect for civil liberties.
• Limit as much social interaction as is practical. Quarantine does not have to be absolute to be effective.
• Develop a clear description of the roles of jurisdictions.
• Coordinate and plan with partners. Public Health cannot take on roles in an emergency that it does not perform day to day.
• Earn the trust of the general public through open, factual and timely communication and planning.
• Plan for and develop ways to mitigate against the stigmatization that can arise from I & Q placement.