COVID-19: Mandatory institutional isolation v. voluntary home self-isolation

Abstract

Since community transmission of COVID-19 became established in South Africa, individuals who test positive for COVID-19 and who do not require hospitalisation have been permitted to self-isolate in their homes to reduce the burden on the health system. The Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Province has since announced that self-isolation will no longer be permitted in the province. Instead, mandatory isolation in state-designated isolation sites would apply. This policy change marks a dangerous departure from the country’s prevailing position on home-based self-isolation and should not be replicated elsewhere.