When the bubonic plague devastated medieval Europe, physicians and health officials did not have even basic knowledge of viruses or bacteria. However, their understanding of the Black Death led them to put some important anti-contagion measures into practice. Shortly after the plague [arrived / reached] in major Italian cities in 1348, local governments began implementing strategies that were surprisingly similar to today’s measures of keeping surfaces disinfected and practicing social distancing. Medieval city health officials understood that traders had to be careful with goods that were being traded [because / becasue of] the disease could be spread by touching objects, and that face-to-face contact should be limited. Venice, for example, passed legislation decreeing that all incoming ships had to anchor in the harbor for 40 days to screen for infection before anyone was allowed [come / to come] ashore. This period of waiting was called quarantino, which stems from the Italian word for 40 days.