Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • COVID-19 Articles
  • Authors & Reviewers
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
    • Open access
    • Patient engagement
  • Members & Subscribers
    • Benefits for CMA Members
    • CPD Credits for Members
    • Subscribe to CMAJ Print
    • Subscription Prices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2023
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
CMAJ
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN
CMAJ

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • COVID-19 Articles
  • Authors & Reviewers
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
    • Open access
    • Patient engagement
  • Members & Subscribers
    • Benefits for CMA Members
    • CPD Credits for Members
    • Subscribe to CMAJ Print
    • Subscription Prices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2023
  • Visit CMAJ on Facebook
  • Follow CMAJ on Twitter
  • Follow CMAJ on Pinterest
  • Follow CMAJ on Youtube
  • Follow CMAJ on Instagram
Practice

Quarantine

Eric A. Coomes, Jerome A. Leis and Wayne L. Gold
CMAJ March 30, 2020 192 (13) E338; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.200393
Eric A. Coomes
Division of Infectious Disease (Coomes, Leis, Gold), Department of Medicine, University of Toronto; Division of Infectious Diseases and General Internal Medicine (Leis), Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Department of Medicine and Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (Leis), and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (Leis), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; Division of Infectious Diseases and General Internal Medicine (Gold), University Health Network, Toronto, Ont
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jerome A. Leis
Division of Infectious Disease (Coomes, Leis, Gold), Department of Medicine, University of Toronto; Division of Infectious Diseases and General Internal Medicine (Leis), Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Department of Medicine and Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (Leis), and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (Leis), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; Division of Infectious Diseases and General Internal Medicine (Gold), University Health Network, Toronto, Ont
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Wayne L. Gold
Division of Infectious Disease (Coomes, Leis, Gold), Department of Medicine, University of Toronto; Division of Infectious Diseases and General Internal Medicine (Leis), Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Department of Medicine and Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (Leis), and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (Leis), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; Division of Infectious Diseases and General Internal Medicine (Gold), University Health Network, Toronto, Ont
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Tables
  • Related Content
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Quarantine is a strategy for containment of infectious diseases that differs from isolation

Quarantine sequesters healthy, asymptomatic people exposed to an infectious disease for the duration of the incubation period, to contain the spread of the disease.1,2 In contrast, isolation refers to separating patients with active infection from healthy, unexposed people, to prevent transmission. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was exposed and is asymptomatic, is under voluntary quarantine, while his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, who has coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, is under isolation.

Quarantine separates people exposed to a contagious disease and restricts their movement

Quarantines may be enacted upon an individual, group or geographic region linked with an outbreak. Quarantine may be an effective control measure when the disease generates large numbers of secondary cases despite isolation of symptomatic individuals.2

Quarantine originated in ancient times and has been employed in modern-day SARS and COVID-19 outbreaks

Quarantine dates back to the 14th-century Italian “quarantino” — 40 days of isolation at port to control the plague (Black Death).3 During the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Toronto in 2003, more than 15 000 people exposed to the virus were voluntarily quarantined at home.4,5 Currently, intensive quarantine efforts are underway globally for the COVID-19 pandemic.1

Quarantines are enforceable under the Canadian Quarantine Act

This law dates to the 1870s and was updated in 2005 after the SARS outbreak.5 It allows the federal health minister to enact measures ranging from screenings to mandatory quarantines at Canadian borders. The act was employed in 2020 to quarantine hundreds of Canadians, who were repatriated from Wuhan and were at risk of developing COVID-19, in dedicated facilities. Failure to comply can result in financial penalty and being kept in detention.6

Quarantines may be necessary but can create hardship for individuals

Quarantine may cause adverse psychological effects. Some people quarantined in Toronto during the SARS outbreak had symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression.1,2 Individuals may experience financial hardship and stigmatization.1 To promote compliance, quarantined people need ongoing access to resource materials, open lines of communication and psychosocial support.1,4

CMAJ invites submissions to “Five things to know about …” Submit manuscripts online at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cmaj

Footnotes

  • CMAJ Podcasts: author interview at https://soundcloud.com/cmajpodcasts/200393-five

  • Competing interests: None declared.

  • This article has been peer reviewed.

References

  1. ↵
    1. Brooks SK,
    2. Webster RK,
    3. Smith LE,
    4. et al
    . The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. Lancet 2020;395:912–20.
    OpenUrl
  2. ↵
    1. Day T,
    2. Park A,
    3. Madras N,
    4. et al
    . When is quarantine a useful control strategy for emerging infectious diseases? Am J Epidemiol 2006;163:479–85.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  3. ↵
    1. Tognotti E
    . Lessons from the history of quarantine, from plague to influenza A. Emerg Infect Dis 2013;19:254–9.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  4. ↵
    1. Hawryluck L,
    2. Gold WL,
    3. Robinson S,
    4. et al
    . SARS control and psychological effects of quarantine, Toronto, Canada. Emerg Infect Dis 2004;10:1206–12.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  5. ↵
    1. Duffin J,
    2. Sweetman A
    , editors. SARS in context: memory, history, and policy. Montréal: McGill–Queens University Press; 2013.
  6. ↵
    Quarantine Act (S.C. 2005, c. 20). Available: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/q-1.1/index.html (accessed 2020 Mar. 7).
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Canadian Medical Association Journal: 192 (13)
CMAJ
Vol. 192, Issue 13
30 Mar 2020
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author

Article tools

Respond to this article
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
To sign up for email alerts or to access your current email alerts, enter your email address below:
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on CMAJ.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Quarantine
(Your Name) has sent you a message from CMAJ
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the CMAJ web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Quarantine
Eric A. Coomes, Jerome A. Leis, Wayne L. Gold
CMAJ Mar 2020, 192 (13) E338; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.200393

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
‍ Request Permissions
Share
Quarantine
Eric A. Coomes, Jerome A. Leis, Wayne L. Gold
CMAJ Mar 2020, 192 (13) E338; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.200393
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Quarantine is a strategy for containment of infectious diseases that differs from isolation
    • Quarantine separates people exposed to a contagious disease and restricts their movement
    • Quarantine originated in ancient times and has been employed in modern-day SARS and COVID-19 outbreaks
    • Quarantines are enforceable under the Canadian Quarantine Act
    • Quarantines may be necessary but can create hardship for individuals
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Tables
  • Related Content
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • Quarantaine
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Parechovirus infections in infants
  • Radiation dermatitis in a patient treated for hepatocarcinoma
  • Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in cirrhosis
Show more Practice

Similar Articles

Collections

  • Article Types
    • Five Things to Know About
  • Topics
    • Canadian government
    • Family medicine, general practice, primary care
    • Infectious diseases
    • Infectious diseases: COVID-19
    • Public health
    • Respiratory medicine

 

View Latest Classified Ads

Content

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Collections
  • Sections
  • Blog
  • Podcasts
  • Alerts
  • RSS
  • Early releases

Information for

  • Advertisers
  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • CMA Members
  • CPD credits
  • Media
  • Reprint requests
  • Subscribers

About

  • General Information
  • Journal staff
  • Editorial Board
  • Advisory Panels
  • Governance Council
  • Journal Oversight
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright and Permissions
  • Accessibiity
  • CMA Civility Standards
CMAJ Group

Copyright 2023, CMA Impact Inc. or its licensors. All rights reserved. ISSN 1488-2329 (e) 0820-3946 (p)

All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association or its subsidiaries.

To receive any of these resources in an accessible format, please contact us at CMAJ Group, 500-1410 Blair Towers Place, Ottawa ON, K1J 9B9; p: 1-888-855-2555; e: cmajgroup@cmaj.ca

Powered by HighWire