Epidemics, Legislation, Measures

A Historical Overview in Light of Covid19 – Spiral or Moebius?

Abstract

An epidemic is never “just a health problem”, but also a “social problem” and therefore requires a solution for society as a whole. The subject of this work is a brief account of how various societies throughout history have attempted to contain epidemics and what written or unwritten rules they have adopted for this purpose. However, the question remains whether we humans have learned anything from the whirlwind of plagues and rules that have repeated themselves over time and our chances are now better (spiral?) or are we essentially in the same place as thousands of years ago (Moebius!). In order to make a decision in the event of an epidemic, it is important to know two factors: you have to know the current pathogen and the respective society. Both factors are variable, especially during epidemics. We have been living with virus epidemics since the beginning of the 20^th century. There is still no effective protection or treatment against most viruses. What remains is the isolation of the infected and compliance with hygiene rules (hand washing, disinfection, mask etc.). The situation is complicated by the fact that not everything can be stopped completely, so the quarantine cannot be complete either. The maximum that can be achieved is to slow the epidemic, which could potentially reduce the strain on the health sector.