Coronavirus Glossary: From Community Transmission to Quarantine; Know Meaning of Phrases and Words Related to COVID-19 Outbreak
From isolation, quarantine, to social distance, quite some words are being widely used in the media. Hence, we bring to you a glossary of words attached to the disease and its meaning.
The Coronavirus has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation. Governments and medical organisations around the world are trying to reduce the spread of the disease and find a cure to it. While a number of infected people were saved, a significant amount of them died. Since COVID 19 began to spread across the globe, doctors and medical experts have been using various jargons and terms related to it. From isolation, quarantine, to social distance, here are some words which are being widely used in the media reports. Hence, we bring to you a glossary of words including coronavirus to community transmissions, attached to the disease and its meaning. Coronavirus Scare Causes #CancelEverything to Trend on Twitter! Netizens Flood the Micro-Blogging Site with Reactions.
Coronavirus: A group of viruses that causes a variety of illnesses from cold to serious respiratory conditions.
COVID 19: The name of the latest type of Coronavirus that causes respiratory illness. This type of disease was first identified in China's Wuhan City in January 2020.
Community Transmission: Community transmission is a chain of transmission among those without travel history and the source of the transmission is difficult to find.
Quarantine: Quarantine is "strict isolation imposed to prevent the spread of disease". People are put in quarantine not because they are currently sick, but have been or may have been exposed to a communicable disease. Keeping them in quarantine can help stop the spread of the disease.
Pandemic: A worldwide spread of a new disease. A Pandemic is declared when a new disease for which people do not have immunity spreads around the world. According to Merriam Webster, Pandemic is defined as something "occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population." Coronavirus Declared as Pandemic by WHO Officially.
Self-isolation: Those who suspect that they may be infected by the virus, remain at home to avoid human contact with other peoples as much as possible to reduce the spread of the virus.
Social distancing: An action taken to mitigate the spread of the disease thus reducing people's contact with each other. Some of these include closing schools, offices encouraging staff to work from home thus reducing large public gatherings. Coronavirus(COVID-19): Social Distancing Google Searches Spike at an All-Time High! What Is Social Distancing? Everything You Want to Know.
Epidemic: The increase in the cases of a particular disease in a particular geographical region. As per definition by Merriam Webster, an epidemic is "an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population." Is Coronavirus an Epidemic or a Pandemic? Know The Meaning and Difference Between These Terms.
Outbreak: The number of cases of a particular disease exceeding what is normally expected.
Endemic: The constant presence of a disease among a particular population within a certain area.
Coronavirus has killed over 4000 people across the world. After originating in China's Wuhan city, it has spread over 100 countries and territories. The virus has infected 113,702 people globally in three months since January this year. The World Health Organisation said that it is a never before seen a pandemic at curable at the same time.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 19, 2020 01:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).