NEW WORDS IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

By Philip M. Lustre Jr. 

THE pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus Covid-19 has led to the emergence of new words and phrases to reflect a new emerging subculture, or a culture within a culture. These words and phrases are used within the context of the pandemic.

“Social distancing” tops the list. It means keeping a distance of two meters or more away from the next person to avoid viral contamination. “Physical distancing” is used as its equivalent.

“Invisible enemy” refers to the unseen virus. “Flatten the curve” is the immediate objective of any program or action plan to combat the pandemic. This phrase refers to the eventual decline of infected persons as shown on the graph.

The standard Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “quarantine” as “state of enforced isolation,” but when applied to the isolation of a specific community, the phrase is “communty quarantine.” When additional measures are being imposed, the phrase becomes “enhanced community quarantine.”

When a persons suspects he has symptoms of the destructive virus, he goes into “self-quarantine,” a situation of forced personal isolation for at least 14 days. When interpersed with some contacts and modifications, it is called “modified self-quarantine.” When pursued at home, it is “home quarantine.

“Lockdown” is the emergency protocol to prevent people from leaving an area, or community. It could be total or partial. When applied in the pandemic, total lockdown has been pusued for the mass quarantine, or complete isolation of a specific number of people.

Lockdown is pursued within a specific period of time. The period beyond its due date becomes “lockdown extension.”

The pandemic has altered the people’s behavior worldwide. The work place is an example. Many workers engage in what is called “work at home,” even as they receive “stay-at-home orders” from their superiors.

Anybody suspected of being infected of the dreaded virus is a “person under investigation,” or PUI. When his previous social contacts are being traced, he becomes a “person under monitoring,” or PUM.

Google defines curfew as “regulation requiring people to remain indoors between specified hours, typically at night.” But the pandemic has given rise to an ugly variant: “24-hour curfew,” which means people in a community should stay indoor for the entire day.

Those medical workers – doctors, nurses, lab technicians, assistants, and orderlies – who attend to Covid-19 patents are aptly called “frontline medical workers.” Since they put their lives on the line, they are described as “war heroes against Covid-19.”

Persons who are Covid-19 positive but keep on going out without respect to the safety protocols are called “VIPs,” but it does not mean the traditional “very important persons.” On the contrary, it means “very irresponsible persons.”

When an VIP named Koko Pimentel was diagnosed Covid 19-positive, many netizens gave him the sarcastic advice: “Stay positive.”  No, they did not mean that Koko stays mentally positive. Your guess is as good as the guess of anybody else.

‘Protect Vico” is the new phrase for an outstanding character in the fight against the virus. This is the 29-year old Vico Sotto, mayor of Pasig City.