Quarantining and Isolation: When Do You Do It, and Why?

Elemental explains how to protect yourself — and others — from Covid-19

Image: dowell/Getty Images

Follow Elemental’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus outbreak here.

For the vast majority of Americans, chances are still slim that you’ll be exposed to the new coronavirus. But as Covid-19 continues to spread through the U.S., particularly in major metropolitan areas like Seattle, New York, and the Bay Area, it’s good to know what the protocol is, just in case.

What happens if I’m potentially exposed to the virus? Do I need to be quarantined? What does that even mean?

First, some quick definitions: Quarantine is for people who have been exposed to the virus but haven’t gotten sick. Isolation is for people who are ill and infectious.

“If you are ill, you would go into isolation. If you’re exposed to someone who’s ill, you go into quarantine,” explains George Rutherford, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.

The general rule of thumb seems to be that the quarantine lasts for 14 days, which is twice as long as the…