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See Also
See Again
© Reuters
0 / 30 Fotos
The practice of quarantine dates back to Ancient Greece
- Greek physician Hippocrates wrote about epidemics in 400 BCE.
© Getty Images
1 / 30 Fotos
Isolating the sick is nothing new
- The Bible describes how to treat and cure people with leprosy. The book of Leviticus makes reference to quarantining lepers.
© Shutterstock
2 / 30 Fotos
Black Death - The bubonic plague was devastating Europe in the 14th century. Cities were trying to protect themselves against the disease, and started to take measures to prevent contact with sick people.
© Shutterstock
3 / 30 Fotos
It all started in Venice
- Ships arriving at the port of Venice (an international trading hub at the time), and who were suspected of carrying sick people, were sent to a quarantine island, where they stayed for 40 days.
© Getty Images
4 / 30 Fotos
The origin of the term
- The word quarantine comes from the Italian quarantinario, though there are also references to the phrase quaranta giorni (both terms mean "40 days").
© Getty Images
5 / 30 Fotos
Why 40 days?
- There are various theories. One version points to Hippocrates' texts, another theory links it to the Pythagorean theory of numbers, and then, of course, there's the Bible.
© Getty Images
6 / 30 Fotos
Other European cities followed and implemented quarantine regulations
- London held suspected plague-infested ships at the Thames estuary. This was then followed by Marseille in 1683.
© Getty Images
7 / 30 Fotos
North America starts implementing measures
- Quarantine was used to contain the yellow fever breakouts of 1688 and 1691, respectively. This was followed throughout the 18th century when, for instance, people with smallpox were ordered to stay isolated.
© Getty Images
8 / 30 Fotos
1793 Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic
- Sailors arriving in the city would be sent to the Philadelphia Lazaretto (a quarantine station/hospital), but quarantine was useless against yellow fever, as the disease was spread by mosquitoes.
© Public Domain
9 / 30 Fotos
1814 Surry (or Surrey) ship quarantine in Australia
- In 1814, an English ship transporting convicts to Australia arrived at Sydney harbor with over 40 people dead, due to typhoid. The resulting quarantine station was likely the first in Australian history.
© Public Domain
10 / 30 Fotos
1892 Typhus outbreak in New York City
- Typhus-infected Russian Jewish immigrants arrived at Ellis Island in 1892. This was followed by an outbreak of cholera. The events led to a quarantine system being put in place.
© Getty Images
11 / 30 Fotos
San Francisco plague of 1900–1904
- A bubonic plague epidemic led to authorities isolating Chinatown. The Chinese immigrant community was heavily affected, as many laborers lost their jobs and faced discrimination.
© Getty Images
12 / 30 Fotos
1907 Typhoid in New York City
- Mary Mallon, better known as "Typhoid Mary," was the first recorded asymptomatic case of a typhoid carrier in the US.
© Getty Images
13 / 30 Fotos
1907 Typhoid in New York City
- "Typhoid Mary" was immune to the disease and was responsible for spreading it while working as a cook. She was quarantined, and later institutionalized on North Brother Island.
© Getty Images
14 / 30 Fotos
1917 venereal disease in the United States
- STDs were a real concern during WWI. "Working girls" were incarcerated, as soldiers were falling ill due to venereal diseases. Condoms were even distributed before US soldiers shipped off to France.
© Getty Images
15 / 30 Fotos
1918 influenza pandemic (Spanish flu)
- With an estimated 50 million death toll around the world, measures such as isolation and quarantine were used to contain the disease.
© Getty Images
16 / 30 Fotos
Samoa quarantine
- During the Spanish flu, American Samoa imposed a quarantine on all incoming ships, resulting in zero flu infections. New Zealand-governed Western Samoa, on the other hand, was hit by a 90% infection rate.
© Getty Images
17 / 30 Fotos
Astronauts quarantined
- In 1969, the astronauts of Apollo 11 were quarantined after returning to Earth to prevent any potential contamination by lunar microorganisms.
© Getty Images
18 / 30 Fotos
1972 outbreak of smallpox in Yugoslavia
- The outbreak infected 175 people and killed 35. Martial law was declared and numerous quarantines took place. A massive vaccination campaign was then held by the World Health Organization.
© Getty Images
19 / 30 Fotos
2003 SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak
- The 2003 SARS outbreak led to nearly 100 people for every confirmed case to be quarantined in Canada. In Toronto alone, about 30,000 people were confined to hospitals and their homes.
© Getty Images
20 / 30 Fotos
2009 H1N1 pandemic
- Also known as Swine flu, the pandemic originated in Mexico and led to numerous quarantines in various countries.
© Getty Images
21 / 30 Fotos
2009 H1N1 pandemic
- In Hong Kong, over 280 people, including guests and staff, were quarantined at Metropark Hotel.
© Getty Images
22 / 30 Fotos
2009 H1N1 pandemic
- Another example includes a cruise ship with 2,000 passengers being quarantined in Australia.
© Getty Images
23 / 30 Fotos
2014 Bubonic plague in China
- In 2014, 30,000 residents of Yumen were not allowed to leave the city, and 151 people were placed in quarantine after a man died of bubonic plague.
© Getty Images
24 / 30 Fotos
2014 Ebola in Liberia and Sierra Leone
- In Liberia, the neighborhood of West Point was under quarantine for 10 days. In Sierra Leone, a three-day quarantine was put in place and people had to stay home.
© Getty Images
25 / 30 Fotos
Mandatory 21-day quarantines
- In 2014, Kaci Hickox , a nurse from Maine, US, was quarantined after arriving in New Jersey. A new mandatory quarantine regulation had just been passed.
© Reuters
26 / 30 Fotos
Mandatory 21-day quarantines
- Hickox had been treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone. She contested the quarantine regulations and entered a legal battle with the government.
© Reuters
27 / 30 Fotos
Quarantine flag
- The plain yellow flag (known as "Quebec" or "Q" amongst international maritime signal flags) used to indicate quarantine, but nowadays it actually signals the opposite—it means all crew are healthy.
© Public Domain
28 / 30 Fotos
Quarantine flag
- Currently the "Lima" flag, also known as a "Yellow Jack," is used when a vessel is in quarantine at harbor. See also: Diseases and infections that can kill you within 24 hours.
© Public Domain
29 / 30 Fotos
© Reuters
0 / 30 Fotos
The practice of quarantine dates back to Ancient Greece
- Greek physician Hippocrates wrote about epidemics in 400 BCE.
© Getty Images
1 / 30 Fotos
Isolating the sick is nothing new
- The Bible describes how to treat and cure people with leprosy. The book of Leviticus makes reference to quarantining lepers.
© Shutterstock
2 / 30 Fotos
Black Death - The bubonic plague was devastating Europe in the 14th century. Cities were trying to protect themselves against the disease, and started to take measures to prevent contact with sick people.
© Shutterstock
3 / 30 Fotos
It all started in Venice
- Ships arriving at the port of Venice (an international trading hub at the time), and who were suspected of carrying sick people, were sent to a quarantine island, where they stayed for 40 days.
© Getty Images
4 / 30 Fotos
The origin of the term
- The word quarantine comes from the Italian quarantinario, though there are also references to the phrase quaranta giorni (both terms mean "40 days").
© Getty Images
5 / 30 Fotos
Why 40 days?
- There are various theories. One version points to Hippocrates' texts, another theory links it to the Pythagorean theory of numbers, and then, of course, there's the Bible.
© Getty Images
6 / 30 Fotos
Other European cities followed and implemented quarantine regulations
- London held suspected plague-infested ships at the Thames estuary. This was then followed by Marseille in 1683.
© Getty Images
7 / 30 Fotos
North America starts implementing measures
- Quarantine was used to contain the yellow fever breakouts of 1688 and 1691, respectively. This was followed throughout the 18th century when, for instance, people with smallpox were ordered to stay isolated.
© Getty Images
8 / 30 Fotos
1793 Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic
- Sailors arriving in the city would be sent to the Philadelphia Lazaretto (a quarantine station/hospital), but quarantine was useless against yellow fever, as the disease was spread by mosquitoes.
© Public Domain
9 / 30 Fotos
1814 Surry (or Surrey) ship quarantine in Australia
- In 1814, an English ship transporting convicts to Australia arrived at Sydney harbor with over 40 people dead, due to typhoid. The resulting quarantine station was likely the first in Australian history.
© Public Domain
10 / 30 Fotos
1892 Typhus outbreak in New York City
- Typhus-infected Russian Jewish immigrants arrived at Ellis Island in 1892. This was followed by an outbreak of cholera. The events led to a quarantine system being put in place.
© Getty Images
11 / 30 Fotos
San Francisco plague of 1900–1904
- A bubonic plague epidemic led to authorities isolating Chinatown. The Chinese immigrant community was heavily affected, as many laborers lost their jobs and faced discrimination.
© Getty Images
12 / 30 Fotos
1907 Typhoid in New York City
- Mary Mallon, better known as "Typhoid Mary," was the first recorded asymptomatic case of a typhoid carrier in the US.
© Getty Images
13 / 30 Fotos
1907 Typhoid in New York City
- "Typhoid Mary" was immune to the disease and was responsible for spreading it while working as a cook. She was quarantined, and later institutionalized on North Brother Island.
© Getty Images
14 / 30 Fotos
1917 venereal disease in the United States
- STDs were a real concern during WWI. "Working girls" were incarcerated, as soldiers were falling ill due to venereal diseases. Condoms were even distributed before US soldiers shipped off to France.
© Getty Images
15 / 30 Fotos
1918 influenza pandemic (Spanish flu)
- With an estimated 50 million death toll around the world, measures such as isolation and quarantine were used to contain the disease.
© Getty Images
16 / 30 Fotos
Samoa quarantine
- During the Spanish flu, American Samoa imposed a quarantine on all incoming ships, resulting in zero flu infections. New Zealand-governed Western Samoa, on the other hand, was hit by a 90% infection rate.
© Getty Images
17 / 30 Fotos
Astronauts quarantined
- In 1969, the astronauts of Apollo 11 were quarantined after returning to Earth to prevent any potential contamination by lunar microorganisms.
© Getty Images
18 / 30 Fotos
1972 outbreak of smallpox in Yugoslavia
- The outbreak infected 175 people and killed 35. Martial law was declared and numerous quarantines took place. A massive vaccination campaign was then held by the World Health Organization.
© Getty Images
19 / 30 Fotos
2003 SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak
- The 2003 SARS outbreak led to nearly 100 people for every confirmed case to be quarantined in Canada. In Toronto alone, about 30,000 people were confined to hospitals and their homes.
© Getty Images
20 / 30 Fotos
2009 H1N1 pandemic
- Also known as Swine flu, the pandemic originated in Mexico and led to numerous quarantines in various countries.
© Getty Images
21 / 30 Fotos
2009 H1N1 pandemic
- In Hong Kong, over 280 people, including guests and staff, were quarantined at Metropark Hotel.
© Getty Images
22 / 30 Fotos
2009 H1N1 pandemic
- Another example includes a cruise ship with 2,000 passengers being quarantined in Australia.
© Getty Images
23 / 30 Fotos
2014 Bubonic plague in China
- In 2014, 30,000 residents of Yumen were not allowed to leave the city, and 151 people were placed in quarantine after a man died of bubonic plague.
© Getty Images
24 / 30 Fotos
2014 Ebola in Liberia and Sierra Leone
- In Liberia, the neighborhood of West Point was under quarantine for 10 days. In Sierra Leone, a three-day quarantine was put in place and people had to stay home.
© Getty Images
25 / 30 Fotos
Mandatory 21-day quarantines
- In 2014, Kaci Hickox , a nurse from Maine, US, was quarantined after arriving in New Jersey. A new mandatory quarantine regulation had just been passed.
© Reuters
26 / 30 Fotos
Mandatory 21-day quarantines
- Hickox had been treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone. She contested the quarantine regulations and entered a legal battle with the government.
© Reuters
27 / 30 Fotos
Quarantine flag
- The plain yellow flag (known as "Quebec" or "Q" amongst international maritime signal flags) used to indicate quarantine, but nowadays it actually signals the opposite—it means all crew are healthy.
© Public Domain
28 / 30 Fotos
Quarantine flag
- Currently the "Lima" flag, also known as a "Yellow Jack," is used when a vessel is in quarantine at harbor. See also: Diseases and infections that can kill you within 24 hours.
© Public Domain
29 / 30 Fotos
Coronavirus and more: a brief history of quarantines
Coronavirus caused the largest quarantine in human history
© Reuters
In 2020, the world witnessed the largest quarantine in human history. While this was an unprecedented event due to to its scale, quarantines have been used throughout history to contain diseases. Isolating infected individuals has proved to be effective when trying to contain certain pandemics. As a result, quarantines are still used to this day.
In this gallery, we look back on the origins and history of the practice of quarantine, as well as revisiting its most famous cases. Click through to learn more.
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