Cito, Longe, Tarde...

Leave quickly, go far away, and come back slowly!  This famous Latin phrase coined by Hippocrates and Galen in the mid-1300s during the Black Death.  Lets talk quarantine!

Did you know that the concept of a quarantine (quaranta giorni-40 days/Italian) can be traced back to medieval Italy?  The general idea was to protect coastal cities from epidemics.

From Eyewitness History

Ships arriving in Milan and Venice were require to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing.  This concept has been the cornerstone of disease-control and came about in an effort to avoid a second bubonic plaque epidemic with the first being in 1348.

New York Public Library

Genoese merchant ships going around Europe with supplies also held many, many rats which carried fleas and in turn the bacteria yersinia pestis ran rampant through the people, animals, and goods on the ships.  

At this point, not much was understood about what bacteria or a virus was, they just understood they had to do something to stop the spread.  

The initial quarantine time was 30 days but was soon extended to 40 days because they figured out the life cycle of a plaque was about 37 days with the carrier becoming contagious around the 12th day and showing symptoms around the 33rd day.  Ultimately, an additional 20 days would be added to any crew member who showed signs of continuation of infection.

While the measures they took were a step in the right direction, they had to improve on things a bit.  

By the time the second bubonic plaque hit Naples, Italy, in 1656, the death toll was nearly half of the residents.  This is when the concept of the "hazmat suit" of the bubonic plague doctors was fashioned. 

The Halloween costume-looking suit consisted of long waxed coats, gloves, goggles, a top hat, a long stick, and the ever famous bird-shaped beak face mask.  The beak was lined with cleansing herbs to clear the air of toxins but still allow for plenty of room to breath while wearing it.  

An interesting thing to note is that these "plague doctors" were either new graduates, shady doctors, or knowledge-deficient doctors but no one seemed to care.  Another problem was that these doctors were sent out by the government to basically take notes, keep details, witness will signings, and attend autopsies.  They were not sent out to cure anyone.

Another innovative idea from Italy was the introduction of a quarantine station-lazaretto.  The first was in Venice in 1468 and was on a small island around the harbor.  Ships could anchor for 40 days to ensure there were no contagions.

Wiki

The ideas of quarantine safety measures and lazarettos were eventually implemented across Europe, Australia, Philadelphia, the Delaware River, and New York harbor-Liberty Island home of the Statue of Liberty.  Times change but it is fun to look back on history and see what we have learned, where we are, and where can we improve from here.  

This current pandemic has really kicked all of our butts.  We have obviously learned a lot of new techniques and prevention measures.  We don't know exactly when the next pandemic will hit but we certainly know as long as there are viruses and bacteria, there will be another pandemic at some point in the future.