The Politics and Ethics of Quarantine Possible Points: 20 The practice of quarantine has been used for centuries in order to prevent infectious disease from spreading among the population. (Note: Isolation is the practice of separating sick people from the general population in order to prevent disease from spreading. Quarantine is the practice of restricting the movements of individuals who have been exposed to a communicable disease in order to see if they become sick, but individuals have not yet actually been diagnosed with an illness.) Every few years, the issue appears as various communicable diseases arise, and each time it is no less controversial. In your initial post discuss your stance on quarantine. Should it be strictly enforced? Where is the line between personal freedom and protecting the public’s health? When responding to your classmates, evaluate a stance different from your own. Consider issues such as the public health system’s role to protect population health, as well as issues such as time and productivity losses individuals may suffer while in quarantine.