[DugwayDuke]

Sacajaweau wrote: “Quarantining SICK people is what should be done. You do NOT quarantine well people.”

You should read up on epidemics. Quarantining well people has been very common. History shows that the first example of quarantines involved ships arriving in ports. Crew was required to remain on board for many weeks regardless of whether they were sick or well. In fact, the word quarantine stems from this practice.

[pepsi_junkie]

You should read up on epidemics. Quarantining well people has been very common. History shows that the first example of quarantines involved ships arriving in ports. Crew was required to remain on board for many weeks regardless of whether they were sick or well. In fact, the word quarantine stems from this practice.

You are splitting hairs though. They didn't quarantine the whole city every time a ship came in, they quarantined only the people who were potentially carrying the disease in. So yes they were healthy and they were quarantined. But no, there has never before been (to my knowledge) a global quarantine of everyone, just in case.

[fr_freak]

Quarantining well people has been very common. History shows that the first example of quarantines involved ships arriving in ports.

Your example demonstrates the opposite of what you are claiming. Ships arriving at port were assumed to be infected until a proper quarantine showed that they weren't. That is a good part of what a quarantine is for - to protect a healthy city from potentially unhealthy newcomers. What we are doing today is more analogous to allowing the ship to dock and the inhabitants to enter the city, but telling all the city inhabitants to stay at home.