Using quarantines as a disease-prevention tool began during the fourteenth century in an effort to protect coastal cities from plague epidemics. Ships arriving from infected ports were required to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing. Therefore, the practice of quarantine acquired its name from the Italian words quaranta giorni which literally means, ‘40 days.’
In 1944, with the passage of the Public Health Service Act (USPHSA), the federal government’s authority to quarantine was clearly established for the first time. In 1953, the Public Health Service became part of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), which later […]
Article Source: drtenpenny.substack.com