Using public health law to contain the spread of COVID-19

Since the identification of a new coronavirus as the cause of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 the number of cases has continued to increase and spread across borders (Li et al. 2020). In the UK, the number of cases of the new disease, COVID-19, continues to grow and those who might have been exposed to the virus and those confirmed as carriers have cooperated with public health bodies and the NHS. However, there are concerns that, without proper containment measures in place, should a person not cooperate the virus will spread more widely across the population.

The UK government has a duty to protect the health of the public under article 11 of the European Social Charter 1961 (Council of Europe 1961). This requires measures such as the removal of the causes of ill health, health education to promote health and encouragement of individual responsibility for health. To protect the population from infectious and communicable diseases and contamination additional measures are available through the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 (as amended by the Health & Social Care Act 2008).