The majority of people in the UK have not been exposed, even potentially. Therefore, this is not a traditional quarantine, by the standard definition. Prior t

The majority of people in the UK have not been exposed, even potentially. Therefore, this is not a traditional quarantine, by the standard definition. Prior to the lockdown, quarantine was already in effect for foreign travellers and so on. This is a novel policy. Some definitions below. ==== From the Cambridge English Dictionary: lockdown noun [ C or U ] mainly US UK /ˈlɒk.daʊn/ US /ˈlɑːk.daʊn/ a situation in which people are not allowed to enter or leave a building or area freely because of an emergency. From the Oxford dictionary: quarantine noun /ˈkwɔrənˌtin/ , /ˈkwɑrənˌtin/ [uncountable] a period of time when an animal or a person that has or may have a disease is kept away from others in order to prevent the disease from spreading From the American CDC: "Isolation" separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick. "Quarantine" separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.