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Quarantine

Scott-Atlas-8-31-20-Newscom

Coronavirus

Is Sweden's COVID-19 Policy 'Relatively Rational' or 'Calamitous'?

If the goal is minimizing the death toll over the long run, it is too soon to say.

Jacob Sullum | 9.2.2020 4:30 PM

topicspolitcis

Politics

In Michigan, the Wrong Way To Govern During a Pandemic 

As federal guidelines suggested classifying more industries as "essential" so that they could reopen, Gov. Whitmer arbitrarily did the opposite.

Shikha Dalmia | 8.1.2020 6:00 AM

Kentucky Flag

Coronavirus

Kentucky Couple Reportedly Placed Under House Arrest After Failing To Sign COVID-19 Quarantine Notice

Elizabeth Linscott, who tested positive for COVID-19, says she objected to the wording of the health department's isolation orders.

Zuri Davis | 7.21.2020 2:00 PM

Rt-Mass

Coronavirus

Did COVID-19 Lockdowns Reach Back in Time to Affect Behavior Before They Were Imposed?

Trends in Massachusetts highlight the importance of voluntary changes in behavior.

Jacob Sullum | 6.30.2020 7:50 PM

Greg-Abbott-mask-6-19-20-Newscom

Coronavirus

Were COVID-19 Lockdowns Worth the Cost?

The evidence suggests Americans are right to wonder.

Jacob Sullum | 6.29.2020 4:40 PM

Mike-Pence-Wikipedia

Coronavirus

What Do Recent COVID-19 Trends Tell Us About the Merits of Lockdowns?

New infections are down nationwide but rising in some places as people rebel against government-recommended precautions.

Jacob Sullum | 6.17.2020 2:40 PM

Boldcutters

Reason Roundup

Another Round of Coronavirus Lockdowns Might Be Coming. They'll Be Far Less Enforceable Than Before.

Plus: Albuquerque police will no longer respond to some 911 calls, the Federal Reserve creates a perverse incentive for corporations to borrow more heavily, and more...

Eric Boehm | 6.16.2020 9:30 AM

Kalahari-water-park

Coronavirus

Another Judge Rules That Ohio's COVID-19 Lockdown Is Illegal

The decision says the "unbridled and unfettered consolidation of authority in one unelected official" violates due process and the separation of powers.

Jacob Sullum | 6.12.2020 7:55 PM

featureswhen should force

Public Health

When Should Force Be Used To Protect Public Health?

Since meager testing resources left officials ignorant of crucial facts about the epidemic, they made policy decisions without the evidence necessary to assess their proportionality.

Jacob Sullum | 6.7.2020 6:00 AM

featureculture

Coronavirus

Alone Together in the Pandemic

How we lost our social spaces and how we found them again

Peter Suderman | 6.6.2020 6:00 AM

Justin-Lessler-Twitter

Coronavirus

Lockdown Supporters Embraced Wildly Wrong COVID-19 Projections That Fit Their Preconceptions

The episode illustrates the perils of confirmation bias on both sides of the debate about disease control measures.

Jacob Sullum | 6.4.2020 2:15 PM

COVID-19-virus-US-Army

Coronavirus

Virus Transmission Estimates Provide More Evidence That COVID-19 Lockdowns Are Overrated

Two models suggest that broad restrictions had less impact on the epidemic than commonly thought.

Jacob Sullum | 6.2.2020 4:45 PM

John-Roberts-2-24-20-Newscom

Coronavirus

John Roberts Does Not Think California's Special Restrictions on Religious Services Discriminate Against Churches

As SCOTUS declines to issue an injunction, the chief justice says the state's COVID-19 control measures seem consistent with the First Amendment.

Jacob Sullum | 6.1.2020 1:15 PM

Greg-Abbott-Wikipedia

Coronavirus

As Lockdowns Are Lifted, Is the COVID-19 Reproductive Number Rising or Falling?

Two models generate strikingly different estimates.

Jacob Sullum | 5.28.2020 3:10 PM

Holly-Springs-Pentecostal-Church-burned-Marshall-County-Sheriff

Coronavirus

Do Pandemic-Inspired Bans on Religious Services Violate the First Amendment? Circuit Courts Are Split.

Supreme Court precedent suggests COVID-19 restrictions that discriminate against churches are presumptively unconstitutional.

Jacob Sullum | 5.27.2020 3:40 PM

masked-shoppers-USAF

Coronavirus

A Middle Course Between COVID-19 Hopes and Fears

Control measures should be based on emerging evidence about the danger posed by the virus.

Jacob Sullum | 5.27.2020 12:01 AM

CoronavirusAbstract

Coronavirus

The CDC's New 'Best Estimate' Implies a COVID-19 Infection Fatality Rate Below 0.3%

That rate is much lower than the numbers used in the horrifying projections that shaped the government response to the epidemic.

Jacob Sullum | 5.24.2020 5:35 PM

woman-wearing-mask-in-supermarket-Pexels

Coronavirus

How Much Credit Should Lockdowns Get for Reducing COVID-19 Transmission?

All of it, The New York Times assumes.

Jacob Sullum | 5.22.2020 3:10 PM

Mike-DeWine-masked-Newscom-cropped

Coronavirus

Ohio Judge Deems the State's COVID-19 Lockdown 'Arbitrary, Unreasonable, and Oppressive'

The ruling says the state's top health official exceeded her statutory authority by ordering "nonessential" businesses to close.

Jacob Sullum | 5.20.2020 3:45 PM

Kate-Brown-USDA-Flickr

Coronavirus

A Pandemic Does Not Suspend the Rule of Law

Courts are beginning to recognize that public health powers, while broad, are not a blank check.

Jacob Sullum | 5.20.2020 12:01 AM

woman-wearing-mask-in-supermarket-Pexels

Coronavirus

Americans Are Isolating Themselves Less, but That Doesn't Mean They Are Abandoning COVID-19 Precautions

Sensible social distancing does not require staying in your house.

Jacob Sullum | 5.15.2020 5:30 PM

Justice-Patience-Roggensack-2

Coronavirus

Wisconsin Supreme Court Says the State's COVID-19 Lockdown Violated the Rule of Law and the Separation of Powers

A seemingly arcane dispute about administrative law has profound implications for the limits of public health authority.

Jacob Sullum | 5.14.2020 3:15 PM

JB-Pritzker-Wikpedia

Coronavirus

Lockdown Lawsuits Ask How Long a Public Health Emergency Can Last

An Illinois resident obtained a TRO by citing a 30-day limit, while a New Hampshire hair salon owner says the goal of her state's lockdown has been achieved.

Jacob Sullum | 5.12.2020 5:40 PM

STOPCOVIDTEST

Coronavirus

New CRISPR Coronavirus Test Could Be a Pandemic 'Game-Changer'

Cheap accurate testing would enable the safe reopening of the U.S. economy.

Ronald Bailey | 5.6.2020 3:00 PM

120747581_m

Coronavirus

When Businesses Die, Bringing Back Their Services Won't Always Be Possible

Event production is one of the less visible victims of the virus. Recreating their services when such companies die won't be easy.

Brian Doherty | 4.8.2020 11:30 AM

Quarantine

"Ordered to Self-Quarantine with Ankle Monitor Due to Coronavirus"

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 4.3.2020 1:35 PM

GenericPassportDreamstime

Coronavirus

COVID-19 'Immunity Passports' Could Be a Good Idea

Why not let recovered coronavirus patients out of lockdown?

Ronald Bailey | 4.2.2020 5:00 PM

Larry-David-COVID-19-PSA

Coronavirus

Larry David Says People Who Object to COVID-19 Lockdowns Are 'Idiots'

Government-mandated unemployment is "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to "sit on the couch and watch TV," says the wealthy star of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Jacob Sullum | 4.1.2020 5:45 PM

COVID-19-projections-graph-WH

Coronavirus

The Trump Administration Presents a False Choice Between Current COVID-19 Control Measures and 'No Intervention'

The real action in the coming months lies between those two extremes.

Jacob Sullum | 4.1.2020 3:30 PM

Neil-Ferguson-testifying-3-25-20

Coronavirus

No, British Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson Has Not 'Drastically Downgraded' His Worst-Case Projection of COVID-19 Deaths

But he has raised his estimate of the virus's reproduction number, which implies a lower fatality rate than his research group initially assumed.

Jacob Sullum | 3.27.2020 1:15 PM

LA-County-Sheriff-Newscom

Coronavirus

Do Gun Dealers Count As 'Essential' Businesses That Can Stay Open Under COVID-19 Lockdowns?

Or is the Second Amendment suspended for the duration of the epidemic?

Jacob Sullum | 3.26.2020 2:15 PM

Andrew-Cuomo-press-conference-3-24-20

Coronavirus

Only Social Darwinians Worry About the Harm Caused by COVID-19 Lockdowns, Andrew Cuomo Says

The point of shutting down the "nonessential" economy, New York's governor explains, is to "save lives, period, whatever it costs."

Jacob Sullum | 3.24.2020 4:20 PM

Andrew-Cuomo-press-conference-3-20-20

Coronavirus

'We're All in Quarantine Now,' Says Andrew Cuomo, Who Two Days Ago Said That Was Out of the Question

New York's governor insists his edict "mandating that 100% of the workforce must stay home" is "not a shelter-in-place order."

Jacob Sullum | 3.20.2020 4:10 PM

reason-newsom3

Coronavirus

Gavin Newsom Orders 40 Million Californians To Stay Home During Coronavirus Crisis. Is He Right To Do It?

The spread of COVID-19 is making once unthinkably extreme policies seem like the least bad option.

Christian Britschgi | 3.20.2020 12:55 PM

empty-plaza-Rome-3-11-20-Newscom

Coronavirus

Would Italian-Style Lockdowns to Curtail the Spread of Coronavirus Pass Legal Muster in the U.S.?

The extent of state and federal quarantine powers is surprisingly unsettled.

Jacob Sullum | 3.11.2020 3:30 PM

upiphotostwo733602

Reason Roundup

Nearly 2,800 People Quarantined in New York City To Prevent Spread of Coronavirus

Plus: Man jailed for licking ice cream that wasn't his, decriminalizing polygamy in Utah, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 3.6.2020 9:30 AM

corona-virus-netherlands-3-2-20-Newscom

Coronavirus

Are Quarantines a Proportionate Response to the Coronavirus?

While the use of force can be justified to curtail the spread of communicable diseases, the threat has to be weighed against the burdens on potential carriers.

Jacob Sullum | 3.2.2020 4:00 PM

Ebola

Ebola Panic Control

A nurse's successful quarantine challenge is a victory for reason and due process.

Jacob Sullum | 11.5.2014 7:00 AM

Ebola

Maine Ruling Is a Rebuke to Governors' Ebola Fear Mongering

Jacob Sullum | 11.3.2014 11:54 AM

Ebola

Maine's Governor Brags About His 'Robust Authority' to Quarantine Healthy, Ebola-Negative Nurses

Jacob Sullum | 10.30.2014 8:33 PM

Ebola

After Escaping Chris Christie's Clutches, Ebola-Negative Nurse Faces Detention by Her State's Governor

Jacob Sullum | 10.29.2014 5:25 PM

Ebola

Ebola Emergencies and Questionable Quarantines

Crying "disease" does not justify forcible isolation of asymptomatic health care workers.

Jacob Sullum | 10.29.2014 7:00 AM

Ebola

Why the Cuomo/Christie Ebola Quarantine is Stupid

Ronald Bailey | 10.27.2014 10:02 AM

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