A Cure Worse than Disease
Quarantine is intended to protect, but it can also punish.
Quarantine as a means of preventing the spread of disease is an ancient phenomenon. Early forms of the practice are described in the Old Testament book of Leviticus and in the writings of Hippocrates. The word itself is Venetian, derived from the quaranta giorni (40 days) that arriving ships were expected to anchor outside La Serenissima to ensure freedom from the plague.
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