With the 12th presumptive case of the coronavirus in Pennsylvania, the state’s Secretary of Health is explaining the difference between isolation and quarantine.
“Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of someone who has been exposed to a contagious disease, such as COVID-19,” Levine said. “If someone is in quarantine, you may not be sick or become sick.”
“But, a quarantine is very important because it separates those, who are never exposed to stop the spread of the disease,” Levine said.
Levine says isolation is when someone is sick, and they are separated because they have the disease.
While a person can voluntarily place themselves in isolation or quarantine, Levine says during a disease outbreak, the Secretary of Health has the authority to require both.
All 12 cases of the coronavirus are on the eastern side of Pennsylvania.
