Isolation and Quarantine Legislation

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Isolation and quarantine are public health authority tools that may be implemented by a state or local government to limit the spread of communicable diseases and protect the public. An isolation measure separates people known or suspected (typically based on symptoms) to be infected with a contagious disease from those who are not sick, whereas a quarantine measure separates and restricts the movement of people who were potentially exposed to a contagious disease who are not showing symptoms, until it can be known whether they are indeed infected or no longer pose a risk to others after the passage of time.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have existing laws on isolation and quarantine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, states relied on this authority to issue quarantine or isolation requirements for certain populations, like travelers returning from foreign countries with high rates of COVID-19, in an effort to limit the transmission of the virus. Beginning in 2021, however, state legislatures have considered and enacted bills modifying isolation and quarantine authority, narrowing the scope of potential future orders or even reallocating the authority from state and local health officials to governors or the state legislature. This longitudinal dataset captures state legislation addressing isolation and quarantine authority and measures introduced between January 1, 2024, and September 23, 2024, in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. 

This dataset was created in collaboration with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials as a part of the Act for Public Health initiative. Act for Public Health provides direct support to public health departments and others through legal technical assistance, research, and resources to track litigation and legislation that impacts their ability to protect the communities they serve. Act for Public Health is a partnership that includes ChangeLab Solutions, the Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, the Network for Public Health Law, Public Health Law Watch, and the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law.