Dear Editor, COVID-19 is the present global publica health problem. There are more than 13,000,000 COVID-19 patients worldwide (data for July 13, 2020). The international travel can cause spreading of disease internationally.[1] Therefore, it is necessary to limit the international travel. If there is a necessary international travel, the quarantine on arrival is required.[1,2] To prevent COVID-19, the quarantine on arrival is the routine requirement in many countries. Any international arrival travelers require quarantine for at least 2 weeks. Here, the author discusses about an important preventive measure for COVID-19, state quarantine. Generally, the aim of quarantine is to prevent disease spreading. The persons under quarantine have to stay at the specific quarantine place. A good system for prevention of disease spreading within the quarantine place is required. If there is no good management, the outbreak of disease in quarantine place is possible. The best example is the disease outbreak in the cruise under quarantine.[3] A suitable place for quarantine should be an isolated place with necessary facilities and good communication system (phone, IT, etc.) for each separated quarantine unit. Nevertheless, it is necessary to prevent non-COVID-19-related incidence in quarantine place. The examples of non-COVID-19-related incidences are accident (such as falling) and sudden illness/death due to other diseases (such as myocardial infarction). The accident prevention in quarantine place is important. For example, the fence for falling prevention is required if the quarantine place is a high building. At present, there are some incidences but there is no specific incidence analysis. There is also no specific recommendation on quarantine measure for COVID-19. Implementing and maintaining appropriate quarantine measures are very important Table 1. Finally, the pre-quarantine management cannot be omitted. At international arrival gate, the prevention should be applied for any arrival traveler from any country/territory. The specific exemption of quarantine is not accepted since it might allow spreading of disease.
Table 1.
Some important considerations for implementing and maintaining appropriate COVID-19 quarantine measures
| Phases | Considerations |
|---|---|
| Prequarantine phase | Early screening at border gate |
| Appropriate system to deliver arrival traveler to quarantine place | |
| Quarantine phase | Specific isolated place from community |
| Implementation of necessary facilities and communication system | |
| Unit separation for individual case | |
| Monitoring system | |
| Safety promotion and accident prevention | |
| Emergency care for health problems | |
| Postquarantine phase | Cleaning and decontamination of quarantine place |
| Follow-up surveillance |
Author's contribution
Wiwanitkit V solely contributes to the work and approve for final submission.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
References
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