Sapphire Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing of Central Queens With a Coronavirus Glossary.
- By Ady Fox
- •
- 11 Jun, 2020
If there's one thing that we've learned over the past few months, it's a new language surrounding the coronavirus crisis that's gripped New York City and the world as a whole.
Sapphire Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing of Central Queens has the definitions of some common terms you've probably heard and will continue to hear throughout the pandemic.
Coronavirus
This is a family of viruses which are known to infect people. It ranges from the common cold to SARS, which was an issue around 15 years ago. SARS CoV-2 is the technical name of this coronavirus that is currently a concern.
COVID-19
COVID-19 is the disease caused by the novel (new) coronavirus, much like how HIV causes AIDS. It stands for Coronavirus (COVI) Disease (D) 2019, which was the first year that a documented case was discovered.
Epidemic
A sudden increase in the number of cases of a disease in a particular area.
Pandemic
A disease that's prevalent over a whole country or the world; in other words, an epidemic that has spread to other countries or the whole world.
Community Spread
This is where cases of a disease are confirmed in people that did not travel to an affected area or have contact with another confirmed case.
Asymptomatic
You may hear of people testing positive for COVID-19 but having no symptoms. This is what's referred to as asymptomatic, and this is why this disease is so dangerous: people who do not feel ill go out and spread the virus into the community.
Flattening the Curve
This doesn't refer to stopping the virus, but rather slowing down the rate of transmission of the disease so that hospitals would not be overcome with patients.
Antibody Testing
This differs from the test that determines if you have COVID-19. If you test positive for COVID-19 antibodies, that means that you had the disease at some point. Blood donations are being tested for antibodies, as antibody therapy is being used to treat more advanced versions of the disease.
