Public Health Law Tools: A Brief Guide

The COVID-19 pandemic offers a threat with few precedents in modern times and tests the tools of modern surveillance and public health law. The goal of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of the types of measures that state and federal governments can invoke to treat and prevent the spread of infectious disease. The following sections will provide an orientation to domestic public health law followed by the types of measures available to state and federal public health authorities. Although this chapter does not consider international institutions, treaties, or norms that affect public health, these are also essential to the overall pandemic response