COVID-19 and the ethics of quarantine: a lesson from the Eyam plague
Giovanni Spitale
Abstract
The recent outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is posing many different challenges to local communities, directly affected by the pandemic, and to the global community, trying to find how to respond to this threat in a larger scale. The history of the Eyam Plague, read in light of Ross Upshur's Four Principles for the Justification of Public Health Intervention, and of the Siracusa Principles on the Limitation and Derogation Provisions in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, could provide useful guidance in navigating the complex ethical issues that arise when quarantine measures need to be put in place.
Topics & Concepts
Plague (disease)QuarantineDerogationCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)PandemicPolitical sciencePoliticsIntervention (counseling)2019-20 coronavirus outbreakLawOutbreakGeographyVirologyMedicineBiologyEcologyInfectious disease (medical specialty)DiseaseArchaeologyPsychiatryPathologyPublic Health Policies and EducationDisaster Response and ManagementGlobal Security and Public Health