# Do we still need a quarantine zone? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 25, 2024, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738 "2024-04-25T11:28:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saffer/32/6440_2.png) [@Saffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saffer)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/1 "2024-04-25T11:28:44Z")
Covid is not really a hot topic anymore. How does SDMB decide it no longer needs this section? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/2 "2024-04-25T11:42:41Z")
> [@Poll: Should we retire the Quarantine Zone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-should-we-retire-the-quarantine-zone/996173): > > We launched the Quarantine Zone at the start of the pandemic, when the coronavirus was the chief topic of discussion. Now that the crisis has ebbed, QZ gets minimal traffic and the staff is debating what to do with it. We have no plans to delete QZ threads, but we might want to move them to one or more other forums - we’re investigating how much trouble this would be. Alternatively, we could just close QZ to new posts. (Covid questions could still be posted to other forums.) We’ll figure out the… ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/3 "2024-04-25T12:18:16Z")
Thank you @Joey_P, I saw the title and was going to link to that thread. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/4 "2024-04-25T15:17:55Z")
Also, SARS-CoV-2 is still circulating (and is regularly mutating, as viruses do, with the potential for immune escape and/or greater virulence), and COVID-19 is neither the first nor last pandemic humanity will face. For instance: > **[As bird flu spreads in cows, fractured U.S. response has echoes of early covid](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/04/25/bird-flu-cows-government-response/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzE0MDE3NjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzE1Mzk5OTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MTQwMTc2MDAsImp0aSI6IjVlYThjODZlLTgzZWUtNGVkNS1iYTBmLTg3OWRlMzQ2OTMzZCIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9oZWFsdGgvMjAyNC8wNC8yNS9iaXJkLWZsdS1jb3dzLWdvdmVybm1lbnQtcmVzcG9uc2UvIn0.68v9CbFX8tXzYcG-Pu-DAG97pJsff-lIyf4nkC51GiI&itid=gfta)** > > Some officials and experts express frustration that more livestock herds aren’t being tested for avian flu. And we’re still unprepared for a new global pandemic: > **[The pandemic cost 7 million lives, but talks to prevent a repeat stall](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/04/21/pandemic-global-health-officials-accord/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzE0MDE3NjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzE1Mzk5OTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MTQwMTc2MDAsImp0aSI6ImVkMzdhZjEzLTEwYjEtNDczZS1iOWM1LTJmMjU3MGYwNGVjNSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9oZWFsdGgvMjAyNC8wNC8yMS9wYW5kZW1pYy1nbG9iYWwtaGVhbHRoLW9mZmljaWFscy1hY2NvcmQvIn0.jxe4T00wtpL9Yyp1Xtbk9CN_jyJwXLP1yXZfJiPQUHQ&itid=gfta)** > > An unknown future pathogen could have far more devastating consequences than SARS-CoV-2. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/5 "2024-04-25T15:35:38Z")
I’ve contributed to that forum a fair bit, and I kinda like having it all in one place. As mentioned above, COVID is still around, and mutating, and we still get occasional spikes, and vaccinations are still a thing. Discussions about Long COVID will be here for a while. And I wouldn’t be surprised if another big 'un comes along within the next couple of years. That’s just my two cents, won’t lose any sleep over it. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/6 "2024-04-25T16:07:21Z")
And is there some cost to keeping the QZ, even if it’s not used that often? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/7 "2024-04-25T16:14:33Z")
There really isn’t any major cost to keeping. If we moved the threads and removed the forum (category) completely, it would clean up the categories drop down by a little, but that seems pretty minor. However, if and when we do close QZ, I’ve already tagged all the threads and wrote up directions to do mass moves to other forums if that is how we go. Most of this is covered in the linked to thread. > [@Poll: Should we retire the Quarantine Zone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-should-we-retire-the-quarantine-zone/996173/65): > > Every thread in #The Quarantine Zone should now also be tagged #covid-quarantine. This would be step one in whatever we do next. Renaming the tag is fairly easy if covid-quarantine is not desired. But I believe 25 characters including the spaces (dashes) is max. Only lowercase letters allowed. @Ed_Zotti @engineer_comp_geek @Chronos @puzzlegal @Aspenglow @Miller @Loach @raventhief @RickJay ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/8 "2024-04-25T18:34:28Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > If we moved the threads and removed the forum (category) completely, it would clean up the categories drop down by a little, but that seems pretty minor. Plus, for anyone who doesn’t want to see it, they can mute the whole category. That’s what I do, along with a few others. ---
**Author:** ![Saffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saffer/32/6440_2.png) [@Saffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saffer)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2024, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/9 "2024-04-26T05:31:27Z")
For me it is a matter of removing clutter. Could you elaborate on how to mute it? What exactly does it achieve? Does it work on the mobile app? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2024, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/10 "2024-04-26T05:41:39Z")
I don’t know about the mobile app, I only do the Dope on a PC. The control for muting Categories is under your Profile, Preferences, Tracking. There is a list near the bottom of that page where you can add Categories that you want to mute. What it does is this: “You will not be notified of anything about new topics in these categories, and they will not appear on the categories or latest pages.” All of the muted Categories are grouped at the bottom of the main page where Categories are listed – there is a box labeled Muted Categories, with a plus sign that lets you look at them if you ever want to, and of course you can unmute any Category whenever you want to. Don’t forget to click on Save Changes at the bottom of the Tracking page. ---
**Author:** ![Saffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saffer/32/6440_2.png) [@Saffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saffer)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2024, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/11 "2024-04-26T05:47:47Z")
Thanks! I can confirm it works exactly the same way on iOS. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/12 "2024-05-21T20:27:53Z")
Perhaps the **Quarantine Zone** can be expanded into a **Health & Medical Science** page. That was the SDMB can still have a place to address COVID-related topics along with other health concerns. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/13 "2024-05-22T16:52:43Z")
It’s been suggested. 🙂 > [@Poll: Should we retire the Quarantine Zone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-should-we-retire-the-quarantine-zone/996173/40): > > I (not quite jokingly) suggested taking medical advice out of IMHO and merging the existing quarantine zone into just such a thread a while back. And I still think it’s a good idea. IMHO has plenty of traffic, and the board has plenty of medical / health questions. It was back when another poster suggested a dedicated Trump forum due to Trump crawling into far too many otherwise unrelated discussions. But that’s a whole other can of worms! ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/14 "2024-05-22T19:56:06Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > along with other health concerns. Colonoscopies chief among them 🙂 Seriously, I think this is a great idea. As this board’s population grows older (and is a population that naturally skews older anyway), the number of health-related threads is likely to grow as well. Having a dedicated place for them is a pretty good idea. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/15 "2025-03-03T21:31:53Z")
Bumping this. QZ has very little activity. Covid questions seem to more often get asked elsewhere nowadays. Meanwhile we are dealing with other infectious disease threats, from avian influenza to measles outbreaks, resurgences of pertussis, and with our current administration, including but not limited to RFK Jr, are likely to have more issues coming up. I don’t think moving all medical stuff to QZ is a good idea, but declaring it as a place for emerging infectious disease threats? It is time. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/16 "2025-03-04T09:28:28Z")
That makes sense to me ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/17 "2025-03-04T17:31:56Z")
Do we really need a whole category for “emerging infectious diseases”? It’s not like we have entire categories for “armed conflicts around the world” or any other topic… ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/18 "2025-03-04T17:38:25Z")
Unfortunately the common thread between them is more unifying than it is for armed conflicts. Armed conflicts share themes but they are usually local. Emerging infectious diseases have potential to erupt into global items, and the themes of how to monitor, prepare, and handle them, all share common discussion. IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/19 "2025-03-04T17:41:37Z")
It may be a good idea to have a forum for infectious disease threats, given that we have an Administration seemingly devoted to systematically gutting agencies’ ability to deal with these issues (such as canceling a meeting for experts to weigh in on next season’s influenza vaccine, an impending HHS vaccine (read: antivax) panel to tout fantasy vaccine harms etc. If threads and posts are still few and far between, then I suppose they could be subsumed into other forums. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738/20 "2025-03-04T18:40:44Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > **Health & Medical Science** I’m for this idea. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-still-need-a-quarantine-zone/1000738.md?page=2)