In a new study, researchers found although people with COVID-19 are told to keep their distance from family members to protect them from infection, about one-fifth of U.S. homes are too small for that to happen.
They found that more than 20% of households nationwide lacked enough bedrooms and bathrooms to allow a person with COVID-19 to isolate. That covers roughly one-quarter of the population.
The findings are based on responses to a 2017 federal housing survey.
The research was conducted by a team at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
It’s hard for any family to keep coronavirus from spreading in the household. And it’s much harder if people are living in crowded conditions.
The team says the issue of quarantining at home hasn’t gotten the same attention as mask-wearing and social distancing.
One option could be to offer hotel rooms to people who need to quarantine—under medical supervision, and with free meal delivery. The tactic has been used in several Asian countries, he noted.
New York City, which was the epicenter of the U.S. pandemic in the spring, did launch a hotel program, as did some other big cities.
But there is no coordinated effort to make that option widely available.
Compounding the problem, many people in cramped housing are also essential workers who don’t have the option of staying at home.
When a family member has COVID-19 and cannot isolate within the home, other measures—though challenging—can still be taken.
They include maintaining 6-feet of physical distance, hand-washing, and regularly cleaning household surfaces.
The researchers say that the pandemic has thrown a light on inequities that have existed in the United States for many years—and housing is among them.
One author of the study is Dr. Talia Swartz, an infectious disease specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
The study is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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