Prior to 2020, "eligibility for quarantine" wasn't high on the list of people to be searched for in a new home. Now that the coronavirus pandemic is deeper into its second year, a report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that millions of American multi-person households were initially not equipped to effectively quarantine a household member infected with Covid-19.
The pandemic guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend practices we are familiar with, such as: B. Maintaining a distance of two meters from others and restricting social contacts. In houses, the C.D.C. indicates that in-unit laundry facilities and adequate kitchens are desirable to limit outside interactions. If a household member becomes infected, isolation in a separate room and use of a separate bathroom are among the top recommendations for a successful quarantine.
The Census Bureau reported this month that 38 percent of multi-person households in the US, about 34 million total, do not have enough bedrooms or bathrooms to meet these guidelines. In two- and three-person households, two bedrooms were considered sufficient to allow a sick member to isolate himself in one of them. Houses were considered defective if three members had to share a room.
Among the 15 largest metro areas in the United States, expensive ones like New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, where more roommates are likely to share apartments with fewer rooms, had the highest percentage of households that failed to meet the guidelines. Unsurprisingly, the study also found that the poorer the household, the more likely their home would not meet the minimum number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
Among racial groups, multi-person Native American and Alaskan households had the highest proportion of unequipped homes, followed by Pacific Islanders, all-black, mixed, all-white, and Asian households.
The predominantly older housing stock in New York City, typically built with a single bathroom, played a role in the region's rankings as the least-equipped in the United States. This week's graph shows how the 15 largest metropolitan areas in the United States have changed after non-compliance with the C.D.C. Quarantine guidelines.
