新冠肺炎自从成了大流行病以后，英语国家自然也无法置身事外。随之而来的，我们不难发现原来一直在用的quarantine好像并不是最好的，或者说是“一把钥匙对应千把锁” (one-size-fits-all) 的表达方法。下面就和大家一起看看为什么quarantine不能是表达隔离的万金油，那我们还有什么alternatives可供选择呢？
希望大家仔细学习以后，可以更好地区分这些概念，也因此更准确的使用词汇。这样对于描述、宣传国内的抗疫经验也更确切和情理化。
quarantine[政、医]
首先我们来深探一下quarantine这个词，可以是动词可以是名词，但表达的意思都是由于怀疑某载体携带传染性疾病而实施的对自由的限制。针对本次Covid-19来说quarantine一般用来指在有法律约束力的对人的行动限制。比如说几艘邮轮上的乘客所经受的就是这种意义上的隔离。一般这类情况中被隔离的人群都是明确地和感染源有过密切接触的。
“Quarantine is when - under state or federal law - individuals or groups are essentially on lockdown. Recent examples include passengers from cruise ships where other passengers fell ill with COVID-19”.
self-quarantine[医，建议]
然后还有self-quarantine这个表达。其实self-quarantine仅仅是自我观察(self-monitoring) 的一种比较严格的形式，主要是由于自我隔离对象怀疑自己有可能暴露于感染源中，比如说最近参加的会议中有演讲人检测呈阳性，但由于目前自己无症状，因此继续居家观察。举例来说的话，加拿大首相Justin Trudeau就是在自我隔离观察中。
“Self-quarantineis a step up from self-monitoring because the person at risk of infection — even though the person still doesn't have symptoms ― had a higher chance of exposure.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for example, is self-quarantining because his wife tested positive for the virus after returning from a trip to Great Britain.”
isolation[医]
随后我们来说isolation. 这个词不像quarantine偏指带有法律效力的隔离，而是多来自于医学意见。一般如果传染病确诊就会导致isolation这种隔离，貌似我们汉语中没办法将quarantine, isolation进行更细微的区分了，所以大家要从英语中来较多理解一下。从英语搭配上来说draconian quarantine measures, isolation ward也可以看出来一边偏指政治/法律措施，一边更侧重医学措施。所以如果一个人已经确诊，那么用isolation将是比较合适的选择。而这些人外出的话就会被要求戴口罩或者穿防护服。
“A diagnosis of COVID-19 triggers isolation. Isolation is when you are sick, either at home or in the hospital. Infectious disease precautions are then much more rigid than in self-quarantine.”
“The person in isolation would be asked to wear a mask when leaving their room or traveling from home to a medical facility — to try to prevent spreading droplets that might contain the virus.”
social distancing[建议]
再接下来就是两个现在英语世界里用得很火、但是我们之前没怎么听到过的说法，先说这个social distancing. 这个词汇比较’light-hearted’, 没什么政治、法律、医学效力，基本上就是一种基于常识的合理性建议。作为一种建议来说，social distancing包括的内容也就多了，从不握手到远离人群再到倘若感到不适居家休息都包含于其中。这个建议比起很多更强制性的措施来说民众一般更容易接受一些，因此大家也出了很多小段子、小视频在网上一边调侃一边推广social distancing.
“Social distancing is a broad category. It means not shaking hands, avoiding crowds, standing several feet from other people and, most important, staying home if you feel sick.”
shelter in place [政]
接着上面的social distancing来说，由于这系列建议没有任何政治、法律效力，所以也常常会有人把它当作耳边风。加上Covid-19社区传播愈演愈烈，很多大城市都出台了行政上更强有力的措施，叫做shelter in place. 基本上shelter in place就是要该城居民没事别出门，但是没事里的“事”又都包括哪些呢？对个人而言一般来说，出门看病，购买自己或宠物的食物和必需品，照顾其他亲人都是可以出门的；有些城市也允许甚至鼓励居民出门锻炼身体。但也有会实行一些curfew宵禁政策的情况。
但是这个shelter in place也不是可以毫无阻力的推行的，首先很多低收入民众觉得停止工作正常生活无法维系，再次很多人还会觉得干涉个人自由，再从宏观层面上来说，也有担心实施shelter in place而导致大量居民“出逃”，反而造成进一步的、难以追踪的病情扩散。由于这个概念比较新也比较重要，在随后的时间里也肯定会越来越常见，所以相关文本给大家多拍一点在这里。
“New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office said any blanket quarantine or shelter in place policy would require state action.”
“A car makes its way across the Bay Bridge after midnight as the San Francisco shut down following an order to shelter in place.”
“There, city officials ordered residents to remain in place at their homes except for essential activities, essential business, and essential government functions, including:
Tasks essential to maintain health and safety, such as obtaining medicine or seeing a doctor.Getting necessary services or supplies for themselves or their family or household members, such as getting food and supplies, pet food and supplies necessary for staying at home.Engaging in outdoor activity, such as walking, hiking or running provided that they maintain at least 6 feet of social distancing.Caring for a family member in another household.Caring for elderly, minors, dependents, people with disabilities or other vulnerable persons.”lockdown[政]
然后我们还会牵扯出一个和shelter in place有关，也是在政策上有意义，但又比较泛泛的lockdown. 从下面的句子中我们可以看到（暂且先不谈读者朋友是否同意这其中描述的情况），lockdown基本上可以对应我们常说的封城，只是是紧是松也不是那么确切的。
“A growing number of countries have also imposed lockdowns that effectively shut down public life, but the details of such lockdowns vary dramatically. For example, Italy banned all public gatherings and set a 6 p.m. curfew but allowed travel for work or health reasons, while in China, millions of residents are restricted from even going to shop for groceries.”
[非正式]
最后我们以一个比较轻松的短语来结束今天的内容，也希望我们自己的hunkering down都可以早日结束。hunker本身有下蹲，或者在口语中也可表达蜷缩、趴伏于某处的意思，而hunker down这个短语也就比较完美的对应我们常说的“家里蹲”或者“宅”这个说法啦！
“As much of Maryland and the United States hunker down at home to help stop spread of the coronavirus, scientists are making progress in understanding how the virus is transmitted, how it affects humans and, most importantly, how it can be stopped.”