Quarantine

====International conventions 1852–1927====
Since 1852, several conferences were held involving European powers, with a view to uniform action in keeping out infection from the East and preventing its spread within Europe. All but that of 1897 were concerned with [[cholera]]. No result came of those at Paris (1852), Constantinople (1866), Vienna (1874), and Rome (1885), but each of the subsequent ones doctrine of constructive infection of a ship as coming from a scheduled port, and an approximation to the principles advocated by the United Kingdom for many years. The principal countries which retained the old system at the time were Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Greece, and Russia (the British possessions at the time, Gibraltar, Malta, and Cyprus, being under the same influence). The aim of each international sanitary convention had been to bind the governments to a uniform minimum of preventive action, with further restrictions permissible to individual countries. The minimum specified by international conventions was very nearly the same as the British practice, which had been in turn adapted to continental opinion in the matter of the importation of rags.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

The Venice convention of 30 January 1892 dealt with cholera by the [[Suez Canal]] route; that of Dresden of 15 April 1893, with cholera within European countries; that of Paris of 3 April 1894, with cholera by the pilgrim traffic; and that of Venice, on 19 March 1897, was in connection with the outbreak of plague in the East, and the conference met to settle on an international basis the steps to be taken to prevent, if possible, its spread into Europe. An additional convention was signed in Paris on 3 December 1903.<ref>[http://www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/treaties/TS1/1907/27 Text of the 1903 convention] British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, ''www.fco.gov.uk'' {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926134555/http://www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/treaties/TS1/1907/27 |date=26 September 2012}}, accessed 5 February 2020</ref>

A multilateral international sanitary convention was concluded at Paris on 17 January 1912.<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 4, pp. 282–413.</ref> This convention was most comprehensive and was designated to replace all previous conventions on that matter. It was signed by 40 countries, and consisted of 160 articles. Ratifications by 16 of the signatories were exchanged in Paris on 7 October 1920. Another multilateral convention was signed in Paris on 21 June 1926, to replace that of 1912. It was signed by 58 countries worldwide, and consisted of 172 articles.<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 78, pp. 230–349.</ref>

In Latin America, a series of regional sanitary conventions were concluded. Such a convention was concluded in Rio de Janeiro on 12 June 1904. A sanitary convention between the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay was concluded in Montevideo on 21 April 1914.<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 5, pp. 394–441.</ref> The convention covers cases of [[Asiatic cholera]], [[Third plague pandemic|oriental plague]] and [[yellow fever]]. It was ratified by the Uruguayan government on 13 October 1914, by the Paraguayan government on 27 September 1917 and by the Brazilian government on 18 January 1921.

Sanitary conventions were also concluded between European states. A Soviet-Latvian sanitary convention was signed on 24 June 1922, for which ratifications were exchanged on 18 October 1923.<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 38, pp. 10–55.</ref> A bilateral sanitary convention was concluded between the governments of Latvia and Poland on 7 July 1922, for which ratifications were exchanged on 7 April 1925.<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 37, pp. 318–339.</ref> Another was concluded between the governments of Germany and Poland in Dresden on 18 December 1922, and entered into effect on 15 February 1923.<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vo. 34, pp. 302–313.</ref> Another one was signed between the governments of Poland and Romania on 20 December 1922. Ratifications were exchanged on 11 July 1923.<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 18, pp. 104–119.</ref> The Polish government also concluded such a convention with the Soviet government on 7 February 1923, for which ratifications were exchanged on 8 January 1924.<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 49, pp. 286–314.</ref> A sanitary convention was also concluded between the governments of Poland and Czechoslovakia on 5 September 1925, for which ratifications were exchanged on 22 October 1926.<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 58, pp. 144–177.</ref> A convention was signed between the governments of Germany and Latvia on 9 July 1926, for which ratifications were exchanged on 6 July 1927.<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 63, pp. 322–361.</ref>

In 1897, the [[incubation period]] for this disease was determined and this was to be adopted for administrative purposes. The incubation period was comparatively short, some three or four days. After much discussion ten days was accepted by a majority. The principle of [[disease notification]] was unanimously adopted. Each government had to notify other governments of the existence of plague within their jurisdictions and state the measures of prevention being carried out to prevent its spread. The area declared infected was limited to the district or village where the disease prevailed, and no locality was deemed to be infected because of the importation into it of a few cases of plague while there has been no spread. It was decided during the prevalence of plague, every country had the right to close its land borders to traffic. At the [[Red Sea]], it was decided after discussion a healthy vessel could pass through the Suez Canal and continue its voyage in the Mediterranean during the incubation period of the disease and that vessels passing through the Canal in quarantine might, subject to the use of the electric light, coal up in quarantine at Port Said by night or by day, and that passengers might embark in quarantine at that port. Infected vessels, if these carry a doctor and a disinfecting stove, have a right to navigate the Canal in quarantine and subject only to the landing of those who have plague.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

In the 20th and 21st centuries, people suspected of carrying infectious diseases have been quarantined, as in the cases of [[Andrew Speaker]] (multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis, 2007) and [[Kaci Hickox]] (Ebola, 2014). During the [[1957–58 influenza pandemic]] and the [[1968 flu pandemic]], several countries implemented measures to control spread of the disease. In addition, the [[World Health Organization]] applied a global influenza surveillance network.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tognotti |first1=Eugenia |title=Lessons from the History of Quarantine, from Plague to Influenza A |journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases |date=February 2013|volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=254–259 |doi=10.3201/eid1902.120312 |pmid=23343512 |pmc=3559034 }}</ref>

During the [[1994 plague in India]], many people were quarantined. Vessels and aircraft carrying passengers were fumigated.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160206192456/http://www.tm.mahidol.ac.th/seameo/2006_37_4/21-3658.pdf Review: Surat Plague of 1994 Re-examined] archived from ''www.tm.mahidol.ac.th'', accessed 22 November 2020</ref><ref>[https://www.montana.edu/historybug/yersiniaessays/godshen.html The Surat Plague and its Aftermath] ''www.montana.edu'', accessed 22 November 2020</ref>

In the [[SARS epidemic]], thousands of Chinese people were quarantined and checkpoints to take temperatures were set up.<ref>Yanzong Huang, "The SARS Epidemic and its Aftermath in China: A Political Persecutive", ''Learning from SARS: Preparing for the Next Disease Outbreak: Workshop Summary'', Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US), 2004.</ref>

Moving infected patients to [[isolation ward]]s and home-based self-quarantine of people potentially exposed was the main way the [[Western African Ebola virus epidemic]] was ended in 2016; members of the 8th [[World Health Organization|WHO]] Emergency Committee criticised international travel restrictions imposed during the epidemic as ineffective due to difficulty of enforcement, and counterproductive as they slowed down aid efforts.<ref>{{cite report|url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2015/ihr-ebola-8th-meeting/en/|title=Statement on the 8th meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee regarding the Ebola outbreak in West Africa|publisher=WHO|access-date=9 June 2016|date=|archive-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222223327/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2015/ihr-ebola-8th-meeting/en/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[People's Republic of China]] has employed mass quarantines – firstly of the city of [[Wuhan]] and subsequently of all of the [[Hubei]] province (population 55.5 million) – in the [[Coronavirus disease 2019|coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic]]. After a few weeks, the Italian government imposed [[2020 Italy lockdowns|lockdowns]] for the entire country (more than 60 million people) in an attempt to stop the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Italy|spread of the disease there]]. [[India]] quarantined itself from the world for a period of one month.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-quarantines-itself-from-world-for-a-month-to-fight-coronavirus/articleshow/74584811.cms|title=Coronavirus update: India quarantines itself from world for a month to fight coronavirus |first1=Sushmi |last1=Dey |website=The Times of India|date=12 March 2020 |language=en|access-date=13 March 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchdecoded.com/covid-19-quarantine-punishment-india/|title=Know the legal aspects of breaking Quarantine order|last=Gyan|date=27 March 2020|website=Research Decoded|language=en-US|access-date=29 March 2020|archive-date=28 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328063523/https://www.researchdecoded.com/covid-19-quarantine-punishment-india/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Most governments around the world restricted or advised against all non-essential travel to and from countries and areas affected by the outbreak.<ref name="AutoDW-50">{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html |title=COVID-19 Information for Travel |date=11 February 2020 |work=U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) |access-date=25 February 2020}}</ref> By late 2020, the virus had already spread within communities in large parts of the world, with many not knowing where or how they were infected.<ref name="CDC-CD-transmission">{{cite web |title=Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)—Transmission |url=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html |website=U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) |access-date=29 March 2020 |date=17 March 2020}}</ref><!-- Add lockdown dates to this paragraph -->