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A stay-at-home order, safer-at-home order, movement control order (more common in Southeast Asia), or lockdown restrictions (in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
) – also referred to by loose use of the terms (self-) quarantine, (self-) isolation, or lockdown – is an order from a government authority that restricts movements of a population as a mass
quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...
strategy for suppressing or mitigating an
epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious ...
or pandemic by ordering residents to stay home except for essential tasks or for work in essential businesses. The medical distinction between such an order and a quarantine is that a quarantine is usually understood to involve isolating only selected people who are considered to be possibly infectious rather than the entire population of an area (though many colloquially refer to stay-at-home orders as quarantines.) In many cases, outdoor activities are allowed. Non-essential businesses are either closed or adapted to remote work. In some regions, it has been implemented as a round-the-clock
curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...
or called a shelter-in-place order, but it is not to be confused with a
shelter-in-place Shelter-in-place (SIP; also known as a shelter-in-place warning, SAME code SPW) is the act of seeking safety within the building one already occupies, rather than evacuating the area or seeking a community emergency shelter. The American Red Cro ...
situation. Similar measures have been used around the world, and, both officially and colloquially, different names have been used to refer to them, often only very loosely linked to the term's actual medical meaning. Examples include ''confinement'', (self-) ''isolation'', (''self-) quarantine'', ''lockdown'' or ''‘strict social distancing measures’.'' Stay-at-home orders have colloquially (and sometimes officially) been referred to as quarantine or lockdown – but some officials have a concern that the word ''lockdown'' may send a wrong message for people to incorrectly think that it includes door-to-door searching for infected people to be forced into quarantines similar to the Hubei lockdown.


Terminology

The term ''
lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...
'' was used by the media and the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
(WHO) to describe the action taken in January 2020 by the
government of China The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, m ...
to restrict movements of people in order to control the outbreak of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
via the
2020 Hubei lockdowns On 23 January 2020, the central government of China imposed a lockdown in Wuhan and other cities in Hubei in an effort to quarantine the center of an outbreak of COVID-19; this action was commonly referred to as the Wuhan lockdown (). The Worl ...
. When Italian authorities imposed a strict quarantine order in the northern part of the country, the media also used the term lockdown, which was used for
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, as well as other countries around the world. Although it is not a technical term in
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
or laws, the media continued to use ''lockdown'' to describe the actions taken by these governments. As the lockdowns were expanded to other countries, there was a shift in the definitions. Measures are less restrictive and other terms emerged in attempts to differentiate from the most restrictive measure in China. When the authorities in
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
issued an order in March 2020 for residents to stay home to control the outbreak of COVID-19, they called it a ''shelter-in-place order''. People were not familiar with it as the term ''
shelter in place Shelter-in-place (SIP; also known as a shelter-in-place warning, SAME code SPW) is the act of seeking safety within the building one already occupies, rather than evacuating the area or seeking a community emergency shelter. The American Red C ...
'' had been used in other emergency situations such as an
active shooter Active shooter or active killer describes the perpetrator of a type of mass murder marked by rapidity, scale, randomness, and often suicide. The United States Department of Homeland Security defines an ''active shooter'' as "an individual acti ...
which would require seeking a safe place to hide within the same building that the person already occupies until the situation is resolved. This caused confusion to the residents under the order on what exactly they are supposed to do. When Governor of California
Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California f ...
announced the state-wide order for California, superseding the Bay Area's order on March 19, he used the term ''stay-at-home order'' instead. Other US states started using the term when they announced their statewide order. In a press conference, Governor of New York
Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cu ...
criticized anyone using the term shelter-in-place for his stay-at-home order as it would invoke panic due to its association with active shooting situations or nuclear wars.


North America

In the United States and Canada, the term ''
lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...
'' has been widely used in emergency preparedness. A
lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...
procedure requires immediate actions in hiding and locking all doors. Additional actions may be taken such as turning off lights and staying away from windows. Students in all grade levels around the country participate in lockdown drills on a regular basis. The word ''lockdown'' can also be associated with
martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
to mean that people cannot leave their homes. In an attempt to avoid confusion, Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago made a comment about the stay-at-home order of Illinois by trying to differentiate it from a lockdown or a martial law. When states and counties across the United States issued an order to have residents remain home, they either called it a shelter-in-place order or stay-at-home order. It has been clarified that these orders are not lockdowns because residents are allowed to go in and out of their homes in limited circumstances. Some jurisdictions have determined that there is a legal or practical distinction between the terms "stay-at-home" and "shelter-in-place".


Australia

In Melbourne and Sydney, the term ''iso'', shortened from ''self-isolation'', is often colloquially used to refer to stay-at-home orders.


Legal matters


United Kingdom

The
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
laws which restricted movement and gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom were known as "lockdown laws". As health is mostly devolved, lockdown laws can differ between the nations of the UK. Lockdown regulations were made as emergency laws, powers passed onto the government by existing public health laws.


United States

In the United States,
United States constitutional law The constitutional law of the United States is the body of law governing the interpretation and implementation of the United States Constitution. The subject concerns the scope of power of the United States federal government compared to the indi ...
gives police power to the states. State governments can use this power within their own state. However, there is no clear authority for either the federal government or state governments to impose a lockdown between states. In term of legality of an order, the government must be able to prove that the order advances a "compelling government interest" and the actions are narrow enough to specifically achieve that goal and they are not unnecessarily broad.


Scope

The scope of lockdowns or stay-at-home orders can vary. There is no universal definition of what is deemed essential. Some orders allow residents to come out for outdoor activities. When residents come out of the house, the
social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dis ...
rules are typically applied. Some examples of essential services are banks, gas stations, grocery stores, medical offices, pharmacies, and restaurants (without dining in). In more restrictive measures in some locations, they require residents to carry paperwork (i.e., appropriate proof of qualifications) in order to go out and perform essential tasks (i.e., supply chain infrastructure, food delivery, healthcare, law enforcement, etc.).


Exceptions

Most orders that restrict citizens from leaving their homes grants exceptions to certain persons or for certain situations that are available to all or most members of the population. Some of the exceptions that allow citizens to leave their homes include work, often limited to essential jobs, grocery shopping, certain types of errands, medical care, or dog walking. Some places have allowed leaving home for certain types of outdoor exercise and recreation and gatherings with limited numbers of people. Some places allow departure from one’s home for any reason provided one does not establish close contact with others from outside their household or beyond the limited numbers of people the jurisdiction permits. When such exceptions are allowed, restrictions could be in place regarding the distance one can travel from their home or the hours one can leave home.


Effectiveness

A 2021 study found that stay-at-home orders caused people to stay home.


COVID-19 pandemic

Numerous stay-at-home orders,
curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...
s,
quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...
s, and similar restrictions were enforced globally in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. Countries and territories around the world have enforced lockdowns of varying degrees. Some include total movement control while others have enforced restrictions based on time. Mostly, only essential businesses are allowed to remain open. Schools, universities and colleges have closed either on a nationwide or local basis in countries, affecting approximately per cent of the world's student population. The 2020 Singapore circuit breaker measures is an example of a lockdown due to COVID-19. On 12 June 2020, the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
reported that 79.5% of US adults surveyed during May 5–12 supported stay-at-home orders and nonessential business closures as government-mandated COVID-19 mitigation strategies.


References

{{Reflist Disaster management Domestic responses Containment efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic Quarantine