Opinion: Quarantine for coronavirus? Let’s make that unnecessary

Do you trust the government to protect you and your family from the novel coronavirus causing Covid-19? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials say more cases are inevitable in the United States, although they can’t predict how many and when they will appear. President Trump says the risk is low and “We’re very, very ready for this.” But what does it mean to be ready?

The emergence of a new infectious disease often prompts governments to consider quarantines. Officials in China recently turned to this drastic option, blocking most travel into and out of the city of Wuhan, the center of the Covid-19 outbreak. As cases appear in other countries, they, too, are thinking about quarantine.

The term “quarantine” means restricting the movements of individuals who have been, or might have been,