Quarantine & isolation

Quarantine and isolation mean staying at home and avoiding contact with anyone other than those who live in your home. You may be put in quarantine or isolation if you've got an infectious disease. Staying at home prevents you passing the disease on to other people.

You may also be put in quarantine or isolation if you've been (or may have been) exposed to an infectious disease even though you don't have any symptoms. With many infectious diseases, you're infectious before you get any symptoms.

The importance of quarantine and isolation

It's important to avoid passing on infectious diseases to other people for several reasons.

Some diseases can be very dangerous for people with immune problems.
Young babies, people with cancer and older people are less able to fight off infections. The infections can be more serious and dangerous in these people.
There are some diseases that we can't immunise against.
Some diseases are more infectious than others. For example, measles is one of the most infectious diseases. The air can be infectious for more than an hour after a person with infectious measles has been in the room.

Length of isolation

The time you need to stay in isolation varies with different diseases. Your doctor or public health team will tell you how long it needs to be.

What to do if you're in isolation

Stay away from other people

Stay inside your home except if you're getting medical care. Don't go to work, school or public areas and don't use public transport including taxis and ridesharing services. Don't walk your kids to school and don't go through a takeaway drive-through.
Don't open the front door and talk to visitors. Don't invite visitors into your home. For courier parcels, food and grocery deliveries, tell them to leave the delivery on the doorstep then pick it up after they've gone.
If you need supplies like groceries and medication, arrange with friends or relatives to pick them up and drop them off at your front door.
Stay in a different room from other people in your home as much as possible. If available, use a different bathroom. Avoid sharing household items like drinking glasses, dishes, towels and bedding.
If you need to visit a doctor, call ahead and ask them what they want you to do. For example, they may want you to stay in your car and they'll come to you to examine you.

Be careful not to spread germs

Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your sleeve and immediately wash your hands with soap and water.
Regularly wash your hands with soap and water.
Your doctor or health professional will tell you if you need to take any other special precautions, like wearing a face mask.

Take care of yourself

Take any medicine your doctor has prescribed, eat healthy food and get plenty of rest.
Keep an eye on your symptoms. If they're getting worse, call your doctor and ask for instructions.
Keep up a normal daily routine as much as possible and stay connected with friends and family by phone, email or social media.

Family members

Talk to your doctor about whether your family members need to stay in isolation with you or if they can continue to go to work, school and so on.

Tell your doctor if you have elderly, very young or pregnant people living with you. Also tell them if you have people living with you who have compromised immune systems or diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart disease and kidney disease.

Quarantine & isolation plan

You'll find it easier to cope with quarantine and isolation if you've prepared for the possibility. You can add the following suggestions to your emergency preparedness plan:

have at least two weeks supply of non-perishable food items
have tissues, antibacterial wipes and disposable gloves
have a thermometer to check body temperature
have paracetamol to manage pain
have enough prescription and non-prescription medicine to last at least two weeks
arrange with friends or relatives to support each other if one household has to be quarantined or isolated. For example, friends or relatives could drop off groceries at your front door.

HealthInfo recommends the following pages

Better Health Channel – Quarantine at home, coping tips
This Australian website has tips for coping at home if you're in quarantine or isolation.

Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed June 2021.

Sources

Page reference: 617207

Review key: HISNY-105442