The Language of Covid
I guess we can all agree that along with Covid-19 has come an abundance of challenging, nee terrible things, a plethora of good albeit unexpected things; and a veritable dictionary of new lingo.
I’m talking about words and phrases, some that are completely new to the average bear, some which are unfamiliar in our own personal daily vocabulary, though we may have heard them used; and some that sound, well, downright made-up (I’m looking at you efficacy!).
Before 2020, who really knew the difference between lockdown and lockout? If I asked you two years ago if you knew a healthcare hero you would have given me a blank look, right? But no one is left in any confusion today and we all have a fresh new appreciation and respect for those frontline workers in our midst.
Those who have been furloughed due to the oft described draconian measures required due to the pandemic and the different variants (Delta, Omicron and now Deltacron to name a few) continue to socially distance and respect the density limits of local businesses including their favourite cafes. They must use a QR code to check in and ensure they are following the rules regarding current mask mandates while trying to simply buy their morning latte.
Then there are the detained travellers, visiting an area previously in a travel bubble, but subsequently designated a red-zone. Caught in another state’s lockdown or heaven forbid, their own state’s lockout and home or hotel-quarantine rules. These weary folk are destined for a cycle of PCR and RATs, even having to show a vaccination certificate to purchase one of these tests (providing ongoing issues for those who are anti-vaxxers of course).
Then, should these travellers test-positive, they must consider the safest place to self-isolate. And who wants to be in home iso when they discover they are out of toilet paper? There’s no hope of buying more as we are painfully aware (yet still perplexed by) the panic-buying of ever increasingly random items leading to empty supermarket shelves. This is further exasperated by supermarket staff shortages due to those who have been exposed and thus considered a close contact, being now furloughed awaiting a negative test.
Phew, it’s exhausting!
So, what is to be done? We all try to keep up with the ever-changing virus, the dynamic government-mandated regulations in response, and keep attending those Zoom meetings and online gin appreciation classes while we await the beginning of our Covid normal lives.
Here’s cheers!
