Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, the news has been rife with references to communities (from countries to states to localities like counties and municipalities) that have gone on some form of lockdown. Right about now you might be thinking, “Lockdown? That seems extreme; I thought we were just social distancing.” Or if you’ve recently returned from, say, Spain or Italy, perhaps you’re thinking, “Lockdown? Heck, I’m full-on quarantined for the next two weeks.” Technically, however, both social distancing and quarantining are forms of lockdown.
What is lockdown?
Lockdown is a non-technical term that includes all public health measures that are aimed at controlling the movement of members of a community in order to mitigate the spread of illness (in this case, COVID-19).
The difference between Social Distancing and Quarantining
Both social distancing and quarantining are strategies to mitigate the spread of an illness, in this case, COVID-19, which is highly contagious and spread through respiratory droplets (for the precise definitions of the italicized terms, see our Glossary of COVID-19 Terms). However, social distancing presumes you have no reason to believe you might be carrying the virus, and therefore, there is no restriction of movement. Quarantining, on the other hand, is the practice of restricting one’s movements (staying home, and in some cases, staying in one room in one’s home) after exposure to someone who is sick with the virus.
The difference between Quarantining and Isolating
Both quarantining and isolating refer to restricting one’s movements to prevent the spread of illness; in quarantine and isolation, the term “staying home” really means “staying home.” It sometimes even means staying in one room in one’s home (as opposed to moving about freely in one’s home). The difference, however, is that one isolates when one has actually been diagnosed with COVID-19, whereas one quarantines when one believes they’ve been exposed to COVID-19 but have not yet been diagnosed.
The difference between Sheltering-in-Place and Social Distancing, Quarantining, and Isolating
Sheltering-in-place (or sheltering-at-home) is aimed at protecting oneself from catching the virus from someone else. Quarantining and isolating are aimed at protecting other people from catching the virus from you. Social distancing is the means by which viral spread can be contained wherever one is, whether home or out in public.
What is a state of emergency?
When a community (whether a country, a state, or a locality) declares a “state of emergency,” it means that the community’s government has sought federal funds to help the community cope with exigent circumstances (circumstances that are pressing, such as the aftermath of a hurricane; in this case, the exigent circumstances refer to the COVID-19 pandemic.
