did anyone else make the connection that one of the definitions of quaratine means a period of 40 days and it took them 40 days to open the hatch?

No... I did not make that connection, but I found it interesting that it was written on the INSIDE of the hatch door.

quar·an·tine (kwôrn-tn, kwr-)
n.

A period of time during which a vehicle, person, or material suspected of carrying a contagious disease is detained at a port of entry under enforced isolation to prevent disease from entering a country.
A place for such detention.
Enforced isolation or restriction of free movement imposed to prevent the spread of contagious disease.
A condition of enforced isolation.
A period of 40 days.

i dunno. maybe everyone has been brought to the island cos they ARE all infected. i just don't know how it was orchestrated...

What if Desmond was told to remain inside the hatch for 40 days, a quarantine before he was allowed to exit, but Locke and CO. happened to beat him to it. Maybe he's been asleep for 40 days and 40 nights. Noah's Ark anyone?

wow... good job. i noticed the 40 days when i looked it up but i didnt make the connection. hmmm.....
i havnt figured it out yet but it definately has a connection... are you sure its been 40 days?

I believe it says it somewhere, like I read it in Entertainment Weekly or something. Michael says that they've been stuck on an island for a little over a month when the ocean pirates find him on the raft.

Personally, I think it is a quarantine against those who have the sickness. Now, whether the sick ones were supposed to remain in the hatch or if the ones who were not sick were to remain in the hatch, I don't know.

Since quarantine is written on the inside of the hatch, I think the Island is what is quarantined not what's inside the Hatch. The big question IMO is how long has he been down there.

maybe the island is designed for rich people who like extreme hunting (of people). like desmond. he had some nice guns.
I have two thoughts about the quarantine sign..
maybe that is just an area of the island, that newcommers have to stay under quarantine for a little while, and desmond was tasked with monitoring them.
He arrived before them, maybe he was under quaratine, then he got moved onto other parts of the island. The security system is used to maintain the quaratine, but whats beyond the quarantine? perhaps the island is a secret base for some billionaire trying to take over the world (he needs henchmen) / aliens / liberal military uprising, or camp psycho..

other thought was already meantioned, that its a permanent quarantine for the sick people... but if it was that bad, then wouldnt they just kill them? someone must be monitoring them? and if they just stay in that little area, then there wont be much happening with the story..