According to the centre for disease control (CDC) “Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others”. The advantages of Quarantine is that it helps to prevent the spread of disease that can occur prior to a person knowing if he/she is infected with a virus or disease without feeling symptoms.
Isolation, on the other hand, is a health care term that means keeping people who are infected with a contagious illness away from those who are not infected.
The major difference between quarantine and isolation is
- Quarantine keeps someone who might have been exposed to the virus away from others.
- Isolation separates people who are infected with the virus away from people who are not infected.
What is the fuss all about?
- In a statement signed (July 4th 2020) by Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, based on the advice of Doctors, President Akufo-Addo has gone into a mandatory 14–day self-isolation after a person in his inner circle tested positive for COVID -19.
- He further went on to state that the President tested negative for COVID-19.
One would expect that the ministry of information will know the difference between these two terms (Isolation and Quarantine) so that the right term(based on international standards) can be used by the general public to avert fear and panic.
During a pandemic, any misinformation can result in untold fear and panic that may further aggravate issues. It is important therefore for the Ministry of Information to pass on the right information to the general public in this regard.
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