Self-isolation money: how the United States motivates people to comply with quarantine

A 14-day quarantine for those exposed to COVID-19 is key to stopping the spread of the virus. And in some places in the United States and around the world, people are paid to stay at home. Writes about it CNBC.

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San Francisco, California began a program back in May that provides workers with COVID-19 with two weeks of pay swaps, or $ 1. The so-called "isolation payments" were funded by $ 285 million from the San Francisco Charitable Foundation. Give2SF.

In Alameda County in the San Francisco Bay Area, people who are at high risk test positive for COVID-19 but are not receiving unemployment benefits or paid sick leave may receive a lump sum of $ 1250 for self-isolation in two weeks. The county supervisory board has allocated $ 10 million in benefits for approximately 7 people.

“The County understands that COVID-19 self-isolation should not be a privilege only for those who can afford it,” said Alameda County Administrator Susan Muranishi.

In late July, Los Angeles City Councilor David Rue made a proposal to provide at least two weeks' wages to workers who test positive for COVID-19 and be quarantined, regardless of immigration status, housing status or criminal record.

And this is not only in the USA.

Low-income workers in the UK who are unable to work from home are eligible for a £ 130 ($ 172) payment if required to self-isolate due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Family members, as well as others who have been in contact with an infected person, can also receive payments of £ 182 ($ 243) for 14 days of quarantine.

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The state of Victoria (Australia) provides a similar compensation of A $ 450 ($ 332) to residents while they self-isolate while awaiting test results.

While there is no reliable data, there is evidence that these payments encourage people to quarantine.

“It is generally accepted that a 90% compliance rate is needed for a quarantine to be ‘effective,’” said Mark A. Rothstein, director of the Institute of Bioethics, Health Policy and Law at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. — In a survey of Israeli adults in April 2020, 94% of people said they would comply with the quarantine if they received government-sponsored compensation for lost wages. Only 57% of people said they would comply with a two-week quarantine without pay.”

While there are various reasons why some people might not comply with a quarantine even if they were paid for it, “not being paid will certainly increase the likelihood that the quarantine will fail,” Rothstein says.

Long before the pandemic, isolation payments proved useful.

For example, during the 2003 SARS outbreak that hit Toronto hard, the Ontario government created the SARS Assistance Program to guarantee compensation of C $ 500 ($ 544,06 today in inflation) for any employee who was forced to take unpaid leave from work as a result of infection.

The idea behind these payments is to ensure the financial security of people exposed to COVID-19.

It also allows people to do their part in preventing the spread of the virus. “Too many families are faced with an impossible choice: work and feed the family or stay home and be safe,” Ryu says.

“Providing a level of income replacement for people in quarantine is humane, but it is also an attempt to ensure the success of the quarantine,” Rothstein says.

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Americans are thought to be less likely to follow voluntary or forced quarantine measures "out of libertarian tradition," Rothstein wrote in a 2007 article. Additionally, Americans are less likely to agree to use preventive measures such as tracking apps or remote medical monitoring.

The best way to encourage Americans to cooperate with quarantines is to guarantee job security and provide income replacement, Rothstein said.

While it's impossible to say whether payments alone would lead to fewer infections, "it's clear that payments increased quarantine compliance, which would likely reduce infection rates," Rothstein says.

As of April 17, the Coronavirus Response Act primarily for families provides paid sick leave of up to two weeks for workers who are struggling with coronavirus-related issues. However, this rule does not apply to private enterprises with 500 or more employees, including many medical workers. And two weeks may not be enough for someone to be completely cured, which means workers risk going to work sick and transmitting the virus to someone.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's proposed economic recovery plan includes a guarantee of paid leave for all workers sick with COVID-19 "as long as they need to recover and undergo quarantine leave, paid by the federal government, with the right to guarantee that workers can return to their jobs,” his campaign says.

However, the chances of the U.S. enacting a federal lockdown payment plan are “pretty slim,” Rothstein says.

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