COVID-19 has changed many things—from the way we wash our hands to the language we speak. The pandemic has created a whole new vocabulary, resuscitating some words which were always there, but rather rusty from disuse, and creating several new terms to explain an unprecedented situation.
Yes, we know that everyone is speaking the new lingo. Still, here's a compilation of COVID-19 vocabulary.
COVID-19: The word was coined earlier this year to describe a new disease, which started in Wuhan, China. Caused by a crown shaped or coronavirus, the disease is zoonotic, or having an animal host. It is the first time it has been known to infect humans. The word is an abbreviation of coronavirus disease, and the number 19 denotes the year in which it erupted. The disease began in December 2019. The new name was announced on February 11 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in consultation with the World Organisation for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
SARS-CoV2: This is the official name of the virus which is responsible for COVID-19. Earlier, it was referred to as novel coronavirus 19. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses announced the term SARS-CoV2 on February 11, 2020. SARS stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, and this virus is genetically very similar to the SARS virus which caused the 2003 outbreak.
Infodemic : “We are not just fighting an epidemic; we are fighting an infodemic”, said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Although not an accepted dictionary term yet, this word, a combination of information and epidemic, refers to an excessive availability of information (mostly false) which makes a solution even more difficult. COVID-19 infodemic was transmitted rapidly through social media platforms. With so much information all around, it has become difficult to distinguish between truth and misinformation. In the future, health organisations will have to factor the infodemic angle into their programmes too, to prevent the spread of panic.
Pandemic: A disease becomes a pandemic when it spreads across countries and continents. It could be considered an epidemic on a global scale.
Isolation: The process of segregating infected people from the rest of the healthy population.
Quarantine: The process of isolating people who are asymptomatic, but might be in the “window period”. This would mean that although they are not manifesting any signs of sickness, they may be carriers of the virus. A quarantine is isolating such people for a specific duration, during which either the infection might manifest itself and they can go into treatment and isolation, or there may be no infection at all. After quarantine, the person can join the normal population without fear of spreading contagion. A quarantine can be in a special facility, which is used for keeping travellers coming from infected places, or it could be a self or home quarantine, where the person cuts off ties with the outside world. Of late, hotels too are offering self quarantine services.
Lockdown: This is an emergency situation, usually imposed by an authority, when it is considered that a person is safer within his home, building or area. There are restrictions on movements beyond certain areas. China imposed a lockdown in Wuhan, not allowing anyone to leave the city. Managing to stop the infection from spreading to other places. Italy is in lockdown now, and so is Switzerland.
Social distancing: Not really a new word, but it assumes a whole new meaning. It means avoiding social contacts, given that the virus spreads from person to person, and the best way to stem the spread is to cut contact with others. The recommended social distance between two people is one metre. It also encompasses the lockdown that people are going through.
There are many who say that social distancing isn't the appropriate term since people can be socially connected even virtually and through telephones. Physical distancing could be more appropriate. Nonetheless, social distancing is the trending word.
Respiratory hygiene: The term encompasses some of the basic etiquette, including covering the face with a tissue of kerchief while coughing. In today's fraught time, it also means proper disposal of those tissues.
Flattening the curve: This is the ideal towards which all administrations and agencies are working. All epidemic outbreaks can be projected on a graph sheet as a sinusoid. It has a stage of exponential rise, and then the numbers begin to decline. Flattening the curve is the attempt to stem the exponential growth. Healthcare facilities, handwashing and social distancing are all attempts at flattening the curve.
