After writing on the Bible and Social Distancing, I reached out to a friend I consider one of the top authorities in the world on Leviticus and Numbers in the Bible, Dr. Roy Gane. He was gracious enough to share the following thoughts on my blog and the larger context of the issue in the Pentateuch (books of Moses). I highly recommend his terrific commentary: Roy Gane, Leviticus, Numbers. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004. The words that follow are his.

The purpose of the quarantines in the Pentateuch was not to prevent the spread of disease per se, although that would have been a side effect in some instances, especially in cases of so-called “leprosy” (a scaly-skin malady that is not the same as modern Hansen’s disease, although perhaps it was an ancient relative of modern leprosy). The stated purpose of the quarantines was to prevent the spread of physical ritual impurity that would defile the camp in which God’s holy sanctuary was located (Num 5:1-4). So any application to the present Covid-19 pandemic (including references to various modes of transmission in Lev 15) would be indirect.

However, some biblical principles that we can derive are as follows:
(1) As you have pointed out, ancient Israelites who were infected were separated from the others, who could go on with life as usual. Today, testing is crucial to accomplish this distinction in order to avoid spreading the problem.

(2) In Lev 13:45, the infected person voluntarily adopts a distinctive appearance (in this case of mourning) and notifies others at a distance of his/her condition so that they will know not to approach. It would be helpful if those currently infected by Covid-19 would take analogous precautions by marking themselves in some way (that could be standardized by the government and/or social media) and telling others to stay away if they (the infected) must go out and about.

(3) Although God punished Miriam with “leprosy” (Num 12; and later Gehazi and King Uzziah), there is no indication in Leviticus 13-14 that those who are infected with the disease have committed a sin for which they deserve punishment (cf. John 9:1-3). Covid-19 is similar in this respect, so those who are infected should not be additionally burdened with a social stigma or discrimination, as if they deserve to suffer or belong to a people group that is blamed with causing the outbreak.

(4) If it proves true, as has been widely reported, that the disease originated in a “wet market” in Wuhan, it is possible that some animal-to-human transmission of viruses in “wet markets” could be prevented by respect for animal life (an implicit topic of legislation in Leviticus and other pentateuchal books) and restriction of human diet to “clean/pure” creatures that the Lord has identified as fit to eat (Lev 11; Deut 14).

(5) A key overall Leviticus principle is to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18). If we are infected or could be infected, pending up-to-date testing, let’s protect others as best we can.