After a week of sobering news including university closings and the cancellation of the NCAA tournament, this Word Nerd decided a post on “the story behind trench coat” just wasn’t appropriate. (Although my 13 year old is still curious about it and so am I. Maybe I’ll hit that later.)
Instead, I feel compelled to explore some phrases we are hearing all too often these days: pandemic and social distancing.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization declared the corona virus a pandemic and urged countries to take more aggressive action against the spread of the disease. To help explain the significance of this, let’s talk pandemic.
Pandemic comes from Latin pandemus, from Greek pandēmos of all the people, from pan (all) + dēmos (people). It describes an outbreak of disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally large number of people. (Merriam-Webster). It happens when a new virus or bacterium makes people sick, or when a virus or bacterium spreads rapidly, or both. Notable pandemics of the past include:
- The Black Death, which killed approximately 75 million people (30-60% of Europe’s population) in the 14th century
- The Spanish flu, (H1N1) which killed 100 million people worldwide from 1918-1920
- The Avian flu (H1N1) 2009
While an epidemic is usually limited to a specific country or region, a pandemic crosses international borders. Experts believe increased travel and mobility and antibiotic resistance could cause more pandemics in the future.
In an attempt to subdue the spread of the disease, the CDC is recommending several precautions including “social distancing“, or “remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet) from others when possible.”
I must admit, a week ago, I was suspicious that social media and confusing messages from news sources and the federal government were causing unnecessary panic. After spending the past two days listening to podcasts and reading articles from reputable sources, I am now prepared to do my part to help stop the spread of this virus. I’ve stocked up on groceries, and my family plans to “lay low” for a while by avoiding places where it is easy to give and receive germs (the gym, restaurants, shopping). We expect schools to announce they will be closing soon; my 19 year old son is already home for an indefinitely extended spring break.
If you have questions or concerns about this new pandemic, I highly recommend the following (they are sources for this post):
- “Everything you need to know about pandemics” from Medical News Today
- “Preventing COVID 19 Spread in Communities” from The CDC
- “Learning to Live With the Coronavirus” from The Daily, a podcast of The New York Times
How are you responding to the corona virus?
Thanks for getting serious with me,
Julia,
Thank you for this solid news. I appreciate your responsiveness to what’s going on around us and enjoyed this post very much. You always are on top of things!
Jane
Thanks Jane! 🙂
Hey Julia… thanks for this post! We (DH and I) are in the “more susceptible “ population. Older(both over 70), with underlying health issues. We are “social distancing”. No eating out, shopping as needed only, Trying not to panic.
Sounds like a good plan. Be practical but not panicked. More time to read, right? Take good care of yourselves.