pepsi_junkie wrote: “...But no, there has never before been (to my knowledge) a global quarantine of everyone, just in case.”
There hasn’t been a ‘global quarantine’ in this case either so what is your point?
Tell that to New Jersey. Tell that to New York City. We're under heavy restrictions against even leaving our homes except under select circumstances. Is it literally 'global' in the sense of the whole world? No. Say blanket quarantine then if you prefer. Do you feel that's not the case?