# Isolation and quarantine Isolation (the separation of persons with confirmed or suspected contagious disease) and quarantine (separation/restriction of movement of persons that have been exposed to a contagious disease) are critical to stopping COVID-19 transmission. Enforcing isolation and quarantine requires resources and systems, including strategies for securing location and ensuring food, nutrition, and medication, and financial support. People in isolation and quarantine require continued monitoring in case they require further care or testing. ### Location Case investigators and contact tracers will assess the most appropriate place for isolation and quarantine--either at home, in a government-secured location (e.g., hotel), or in a hospital. ### Provisions Care resource managers ensure access to nutrition and required medications, whether by neighbor, friend, family member, or delivery service. ### Other needs Case investigators? should assess for potential challenges of isolation and quarantine, including loss of income and loss of ability to care for others, that may make compliance difficult. Public health programs such as tuberculosis control programs have provided “incentives and enablers” for this purpose. Examples include covering mortgage or rent payments, providing daycare or elder care, and others. Direct financial compensation for those with lost wages should be considered. ### Legal authority Health officers have legal authority to order isolation and quarantine. Local programs may vary in their approach. Some issue orders immediately whereas others seek voluntary cooperation without a legal order initially. States may need to provide additional support if local health departments need mass provision, monitoring, or enforcement of legal orders. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://contacttracingplaybook.org/how-to-do-contact-tracing/isolation-and-quarantine.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.