Quarantine, isolation and the duty of easy rescue in public health

Giubilini, Alberto; Douglas, Thomas; Maslen, Hannah; Savulescu, Julian

However, quarantine and isolation can be far more burdensome than forgoing international travel. In Singer's example of the drowning child, the cost to the rescuer is small: the individual does not suffer significantly from getting her clothes mudded. By contrast, in some instances of quarantine and isolation, the personal cost can be great even when its moral relevance remains small compared to the moral significance of the harm prevented. For example, Ebola‐exposed families who were subject to quarantine measures in West Africa during the 2014‐15 outbreak suffered significantly from stigmatization and loss of livelihoods,26 as well as possible increased exposure. A survey conducted by the WHO and the Liberia's Ministry of Health found that during the outbreak many families in quarantine did not receive food supplies and that communication between quarantined people and their families was often impossible.27 In some cases even access to water and sanitation facilities could not be guaranteed for people in quarantine.28 These conditions do not seem compatible with quarantine or isolation being forms of “easy rescue”. However, as we have seen in the previous sections, the great harm that can be prevented through quarantine and isolation certainly is of great moral importance, and therefore the moral relevance of the infringement of individual rights might still be small when compared to that.