The Language of Coronavirus

The language of coronavirus
 BY OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS ELT
 POSTED ON MARCH 27, 2020
All content correct as

of 18 March 2020.
The world in the 21st century is a global village, and just how closely we live
within it has become dramatically clear from coronavirus: this virus does
not respect any borders. As the pandemic sweeps from country to country,
and healthcare systems and governments grapple to overcome it, the
language used to describe what is happening is evolving. There are not so
much new words as new usages and combinations of words which, were it
not for the fact that this concerns everyone, would just be medical or
official jargon.
At the time of writing this blog – and the situation is changing radically day
by day – the UK government is advocating social distancing*, and everyone
is either considering self-isolating* or knows someone who is. We have
moved beyond the point where frequent 20-second hand-washing or use
of hand gel, and replacement of handshakes, hugs and kisses by the Ebola
handshake* are sufficient measures to stop the spread of the virus. Anyone
with the symptoms of a fever and/or a persistent cough has been told
to quarantine themselves for 14 days. People over 70 or
with underlying health conditions are particularly vulnerable to the virus.
Everyone is being urged to work at home if possible. Of course, this does not
include those in frontline services – doctors, nurses, transport workers, food
manufacturers and outlets.
Coronavirus emerged in China, but it still is not clear who patient zero* was
and when they were infected – in November or earlier. The world watched
in horror as the number of confirmed cases and fatalities in China rose
rapidly. Since then, what was an epidemic has turned into a pandemic, and
Europe has become its epicentre. Each country is taking measures to try
and contain the virus. Several have gone into complete lockdown. The
British Government announced a four-phase programme
of: contain, delay, research and mitigate. It held off calling for social
distancing initially, partly as it was concerned with building herd
immunity* in the British population. However, the government quickly
changed tack after much criticism and comparison with more radical
measures being taken elsewhere in Europe. Mass gatherings have already
been stopped, and at this point it looks like only a matter of days before we
see the closure of schools and universities. GPs have begun to
hold remote consultations, by Skype and so on. To what extent the UK –
like Italy, and China before it – will be playing catch-up from acting too
slowly remains to be seen.
In the early days of the virus, it emerged in clusters or hotspots, but now
has spread more widely through the population. Contact-tracing remains
vital to stopping the spread. Buildings where people with the virus have
been are deep-cleaned* before normal use can resume.
The economic effects of the pandemic are enormous. Stock markets have
crashed; shares have tumbled. There are fears of a global recession. More
immediately, people have started panicbuying*, stockpiling various goods.
There has been such a run on items such as toilet paper in some places that
supermarket shelves have been left bare. Some countries have
placed blanket bans on flights from certain countries. The footfall in
restaurants, etc. has fallen dramatically in the space of a few days. All kinds
of businesses, particularly in the entertainment sphere, are in danger of
going bust – and that would mean a loss of jobs.
There are new business opportunities, though, for companies that are
capable of manufacturing ventilators, masks and other medical equipment
in shortage, and for delivery services.
People can be tested for the virus with a swab. A new and faster testing
kit is about to go onto the market, which could play an important part in
identifying those who are infected but show no symptoms (=
are asymptomatic), and thus slow down the spread even more.
It could be another year or so before scientists create a vaccine against

Coronavirus. In the meantime, there are fears that the virus could mutate.
In times of crisis, we see the worst but also the best in our fellow humans.
One big positive of this global village of ours is that we now know so much
about each other – and hopefully care more about each other too. We are all
in this together. Cutting ourselves off to protect ourselves has brought
forth masses of humour and ingenuity in ways to keep each other’s spirits
up, and underlines what social creatures we are. I’m sure we’ll all be
relieved, though, when we can go back to being that big global village again.
Glossary
social distancing staying away from other people as much as

possible
self-isolating staying away from other people completely
Ebola handshake greeting someone by touching elbows with them
herd immunity resistance to the spread of a disease that results if

enough people in a population have or develop immunity, e.g.
through vaccination or through catching the disease
patient zero the first patient
deep-cleaned cleaned extremely carefully in order to remove the

risk of infection
panicbuying buying large quantities of particular products

because of fears of shortages

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The language of coronavirus

 BY OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS ELT

 POSTED ON MARCH 27, 2020

All content correct as

It could be another year or so before scientists create a vaccine against

social distancing staying away from other people as much as

self-isolating staying away from other people completely

Ebola handshake greeting someone by touching elbows with them

herd immunity resistance to the spread of a disease that results if

patient zero the first patient

deep-cleaned cleaned extremely carefully in order to remove the

panicbuying buying large quantities of particular products

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