2021.4/20

Coronavirus Glossary
From US News unless specified otherwise
Community spread. Community spread of the coronavirus means people living within an area havebecome infected, including some people who aren't certain how or where they became infected. For
example, they haven't recently traveled to a country experiencing an outbreak, or haven't knowingly
been exposed to someone with confirmed COVID-19.
市中感染
COVID-19. This stands for the coronavirus disease of 2019, when it was first identified. It refers tothe highly contagious diseases caused by the SARS-CoV-2 corona virus, spreading across mostparts of the globe. It is believed to spread primarily by respiratory droplet from infected people.
Fever, cough and shortness of breath are hallmark symptoms.
Epidemic. An epidemic is a significant, often sudden increase in the number of cases of an
infectious disease that rises above what's usually expected for a population in a certain geographic
area. 伝染病
Flatten the curve. The COVID-19 "curve" refers to the trajectory of how the disease spreads. On agraph, an early, high curve reflects a surge in cases that can overwhelm the health care system in acountry, leading to shortages in intensive care beds and lifesaving equipment. By implementing
population-wide measures like social distancing early, the onset of cases can be delayed with rises
more gradually with a lower peak of total cases.
Slowing a virus's spread to lower the peak number of cases and related demands on hospitals andinfrastructure.

Incubation period. The incubation period for a disease is the time from which you're exposed to theorganism – such as a virus or bacteria – by which it's caused until you develop the first symptoms.
Evidence so far suggests that the incubation period for the virus that causes COVID-19 may range
from two to 14 days, according to the CDC. You are contagious during this time, even if you're notyet showing symptoms, or asymptomatic. 潜伏期間
Isolation. Isolation is used to separate someone with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19
from others to avoid transmitting the disease. In facilities such as hospitals or nursing homes,
isolation typically requires the person to be moved into a separate room. Self-isolation or home
isolation is when someone with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 who is in stable condition (not1requiring hospital care) stays at home, ideally in a separate bedroom. 隔離
Novel coronavirus. Scientists use the word "novel" to distinguish the new form of coronavirus(SARS-CoV-2) currently making people sick from previous types of coronaviruses (such as SARSand MERS). Because it is a novel virus that no one has previously been exposed to, that means noone has had a chance to build immunity (with the possible exception of people who have recently
recovered from COVID-19).
Pandemic. When a disease has rapidly spread across many nations, the World Health Organization
makes the determination whether it is has risen from epidemic to the level of a pandemic – meaning
it has spread across a large international region or worldwide. On March 11, the WHO declared
COVID-19 a pandemic.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR is a method used widely in molecular biology to makemillions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample rapidly, allowing scientists to take a very small
sample of DNA and amplify it to a large enough amount to study in detail. PCR was invented in 1983
by the American biochemist Kary Mullis. Using PCR, copies of very small amounts of DNA
sequences are exponentially amplified in a series or cycles of temperature changes. PCR is now acommon and often indispensable technique used in medical laboratory and clinical laboratory
research for a broad variety of applications including biomedical research and criminal forensics.
（Wikiedia）(Video on PCR) 3:55 2014,04/21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQsu3Kz9NYoQuarantine. A state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from
elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed. People who have been
exposed to a communicable disease, who themselves are not yet sick, are sometimes placed underquarantine to separate them from the general public until it's clear they won't spread the infection.
検疫
R naught (R0) / reproductive rate: It is the infection rate of a disease, the expected number of people thateach carrier will infect. R0 estimated for the virus that causes COVID-19 is around 2 to 3, which is slightly
higher than that for seasonal influenza (R0 ~1.2-1.3), but far lower than more contagious diseases
such as measles (R0 ~12 - 18). 基本再生産数(Daiky Sabah、KFF)
Social distancing. This encompasses a range of public health measures to put space between
people and limit the spread of a contagious disease. Canceling events such as festivals andconferences, limiting the number of people in gatherings, shifting office employees totelecommuting, closing schools and nonessential businesses, confining restaurant meals to takeout only and restricting nursing home visitors are examples of social distancing. The term isbeing replaced by "physical distancing" to emphasize that people should still try to stay sociallyconnected while putting physical distance between oneself and others.
State of emergency: A temporary system of rules to deal with an extremely dangerous or difficult
situation. A nationwide state of emergency was declared in Japan due to the country’s worsening
coronavirus outbreak. 緊急事態（宣言）Superspreader A superspreader is an individual who transmits an infectious disease to multiple
other people. Superspreader events can occur in environments where many people are in closequarters for sustained periods, such as the coronavirus outbreaks originating in some nursing
homes, cruise ships and church gatherings.
Underlying medical condition. Recent data from China and Italy suggests that people with
underlying medical conditions (and older adults) are more vulnerable to severe complications anddeath from COVID-19. These underlying conditions include cancer, lung diseases like COPD,diabetes and autoimmune diseases. 既往症2

Vaccine. Vaccines work by training and preparing the body’s natural defences – the immune system– to recognize and fight off the viruses and bacteria they target. After vaccination, if the body is later
exposed to those disease-causing germs, the body is immediately ready to destroy them, preventing
illness. (WHO: World Health Organization) ワクチン Messenger RNA vaccines—also called mRNA
vaccines—are some of the first COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use. They give instructions for ourcells to make a harmless piece of what is called the “spike protein”, found on the surface of the virusthat causes COVID-19. (CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA)
Variant. Viruses constantly change through mutation. A variant has one or more mutations thatdifferentiate it from other variants in circulation. (CDC) 変異株
mutation(突然)変異Ventilator. A ventilator is a machine that supplies oxygen to the lungs of a patient with severe
respiratory problems when oxygen levels in the patient's bloodstream drop below a certain point.
So that the ventilator can deliver oxygen to the patient, a tube is placed down the patient's throat, orintubation, to open up the patient's airways. Many hospitals in the U.S. face possible ventilator
shortages as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to spike. 人工呼吸器
Daily Sabah (Turky)

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Glossary on Webpages:(References used for Maeno’s “COVID-19 Glossary” handout)
US News (USA)https://health.usnews.com/conditions/articles/coronavirus-glossary
by Lisa Esposito, April 2, 2020.
Kaiser Family Foundation (San Francisco, USA)https://www.kff.org/glossary/covid-19-outbreak-glossary/
Aljazeera (Doha, Qatar)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/coronavirus-terminology-explained-covid-19-glossary200323064432820.html
Daily Sabah (Turky)
with Some illustration
https://www.dailysabah.com/life/health/coronavirus-glossary-lockdown-the-curve-essential-worker-and-more
The New York Times (USA)https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/us/coronavirus-terms-glossary.html

Some useful videos on COVID-19 for “English for Physics”
Coronavirus variants: What you need to know 5:49 2021/04/14
nature video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8UEZ9cfgz4&ab_channel=naturevideo
How mRNA vaccines work 1:23 2021/02/16 viewed 102,187
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbaCxIJ_VP4&ab_channel=HarvardUniversity
How mRNA Vaccines Work - Simply Explained 4:25 2020/12/30 viewed 392,141
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOvvyqJ-vwo&t=107s&ab_channel=SimplyExplained
Exponential growth and epidemics 8:56 2020/03/08
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kas0tIxDvrg
log-log graph by physicists 7:15 2020/03/27
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54XLXg4fYsc
Bio animation 7:27 2020/03/28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DGwOJXSxqg
PCR 3:55 2014,04/21
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQsu3Kz9NYo
PCR 6:51 2017/01/31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2JuQHspT8w
https://www.dailysabah.com/life/health/coronavirus-glossary-lockdown-the-curve-essential-worker-and-more

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