canyonwalker | (Reply)

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Thanks for the data point. I do understand how similar quarantine policies have been implemented in other places such as South Korea and Japan. The difficulty with implementing such here is due to a combination of enormous logistical challenges and our political climate. Briefly:

1) This quarantine is at the county level, where borders are very porous. Collecting information on who's arriving would require an enormous effort, setting up police checkpoints along numerous major highways and countless smaller roads as well. There is no budget at the county level for this kind of dragnet.

2) Such widespread checkpoints would set off alarm bells among civil libertarians-- and the anti-government wing of the Republican party. Recall that even a mask mandate in Michigan resulted in armed occupation of the state legislature in April. That act fits the literal definition of terrorism yet was blessed by Republican leaders nationwide and treated by police as a protected peaceful demonstration.

3) Followup tracing also runs afoul of both these issues. It's a big logistical undertaking for which there's much too little money. Modest tracing has already failed in this country due to too-little-too-late investment. And too many in the country would be up in arms (literally) at the fact that police are checking up on people just for traveling.