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Research article
People’s perception of quarantine during the COVID-19 outbreak in Shantou, China
Xiaojun Chen
Corresponding Author
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This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background
Unprecedented public health measures have been implemented to combat the pandemic outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China. The purpose of this research is to identify people’s perception of quarantine during the COVID-19
Methods
Semi-structured interviews with 30 participants were conducted, including 15 people who had been quarantined and 15 participants who had not been quarantined during the COVID-19 outbreak in Shantou, Southern China. Interview data were collected from February to March 2020. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcribed data were coded and analyzed to identify key themes.
Results
Four key themes concerning public health measures emerged: 1) A city-wide lockdown effectively aroused the public’s awareness of the seriousness of COVID-19, which was helpful for controlling the pandemic; however, it greatly impacted the economy and individuals’ way of life. 2) Hotel quarantine was an effective measure for medical observations. 3) Fear and lack of knowledge of quarantine were the main factors that affected quarantine compliance. 4) Less attention was paid to people’s mental health during the pandemic outbreak.
Conclusions
A lockdown and centralized hotel quarantines were effective ways to control the outbreak. Mandatory measures were highly supported. The media should educate the public about COVID-19. Psychological counseling is necessary for people who were quarantined long-term. The findings have implications for other countries and for emerging infectious diseases in the future.
Keywords
COVID-19, quarantine, China, interviews
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This is a preprint. It has not completed peer review.
Research article
People’s perception of quarantine during the COVID-19 outbreak in Shantou, China
Xiaojun Chen
Corresponding Author
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
History
CURRENT STATUS: Posted
Version 1
Posted 19 May, 2020
No community comments so far
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background
Unprecedented public health measures have been implemented to combat the pandemic outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China. The purpose of this research is to identify people’s perception of quarantine during the COVID-19
Methods
Semi-structured interviews with 30 participants were conducted, including 15 people who had been quarantined and 15 participants who had not been quarantined during the COVID-19 outbreak in Shantou, Southern China. Interview data were collected from February to March 2020. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcribed data were coded and analyzed to identify key themes.
Results
Four key themes concerning public health measures emerged: 1) A city-wide lockdown effectively aroused the public’s awareness of the seriousness of COVID-19, which was helpful for controlling the pandemic; however, it greatly impacted the economy and individuals’ way of life. 2) Hotel quarantine was an effective measure for medical observations. 3) Fear and lack of knowledge of quarantine were the main factors that affected quarantine compliance. 4) Less attention was paid to people’s mental health during the pandemic outbreak.
Conclusions
A lockdown and centralized hotel quarantines were effective ways to control the outbreak. Mandatory measures were highly supported. The media should educate the public about COVID-19. Psychological counseling is necessary for people who were quarantined long-term. The findings have implications for other countries and for emerging infectious diseases in the future.