Your Choice
Yes, quarantine the neighborhood. Protecting the public's health is the highest priority.
The Greater Good
In choosing to quarantine the neighborhood, you have decided to place the good of the public over the rights of individuals. The theoretical rationale for quarantine emerges out of the utilitarian concept that members of a society do not have the right to impose significant health risks on others. Joseph Barbera, George Washington University professor of emergency medicine, writes:
The moral authority for human quarantine is historically based on the concept of the public health contract. Under the public health contract, individuals agree to forgo certain rights and liberties, if necessary, to prevent a significant risk to other persons. Civil rights and liberties are subject to limitation because each person gains the benefits of living in a healthier and safer society.
The United States Supreme Court has supported this premise, upholding a mandatory vaccination law in Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905). In his opinion on the case, Justice Harlan writes, "There are manifold restraints to which every person is necessarily subject for the common good. On any other basis organized society could not exist with safety to its members."
Importance of Communication
After implementing quarantine, you must ensure that the lines of communication between authorities and the public remain open. Clear and credible information is essential to disseminating instructions and controlling panic. When China curtailed reporting on the spread of SARS, it denied vital information both to its own citizens and to other countries, facilitating the spread of the disease and leaving neighboring territories unprepared. According to the New York Times, it was only after a long delay that
Chinese leaders acknowledged some mistakes, fired the health minister and Beijing's mayor, and began a national political mobilization to fight SARS. China made broad use of quarantines to isolate anyone suspected of having contact with SARS patients. The military built a 1,000-bed SARS hospital in a week, and travel was heavily restricted.
Maintaining open lines of communication is only one of the major considerations you must make if you choose to quarantine.
Have you considered the reasons quarantine may not be the best choice?
Read on to learn more about the counterarguments to implementing quarantine.>>
