Episode 79: Coronavirus Craziness

Listen to this Episode of "Coffee with Gringos" here or on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play and Stitcher.

(*Note: This episode was recorded on February 25th, so things have evolved since then. But an updated episode on this topic is coming soon!)

Paige:  You are listening to “Coffee with Gringos.” I'm Paige Sutherland.

Ian: And I'm Ian Kennedy.

Paige: So today, we are talking about coronavirus. It is a pandemic that has literally been traveling around the world, definitely killing a lot of people and infecting a lot of people. So, today's episode we're just gonna talk about our thoughts on it and reaction to this global crisis. So again, if you get lost, go online, check out the audio transcript and guide. Okay, Ian: coronavirus. Are you scared? Have you left your house? Are you wearing masks? What's your thoughts?

Ian: I haven't left the house in weeks. I’m only wearing a mask, for those who can't see. No—it's definitely not good. This is definitely not something you want. You never want a big global disease spreading around, especially something that's easy to spread, and it's going from continent to continent. So, never something good. And we see that this started, I think, technically it was announced on December 31st—the first case—and it came out of an area of China, called Wu Han. I think I'm pronouncing it right. And what it is is it's a disease that spreads from animals to humans, and it's reported that it started in an animal or fish market. And so, this is a new disease, it's from the corona virus family which has a whole host of other diseases, as well. But this one's a new case so they're having to look for a new treatment, for a vaccine and it sounds like it's still months or even years away, unfortunately. Like I said, you never want these things to happen. And I think the last big coronavirus-type case was back in 2003. If people can remember there was the SARS outbreak. And this also, I believe, started out of China. And the difference is this new coronavirus is a little bit harder to handle. The death toll is already surpassed what happened with the SARS virus back in 2003, and it's looking like it's not really slowing down the containment. So, it'll be interesting to see what happens, how much more it spreads and hopefully it's something that can be can be quashed pretty soon.

Paige: I think when the reports came out the scary thing about it was that there wasn't any knowledge on the cause. So, it's, kind of, like people are getting sick, lots of people are getting sick, all of a sudden, the World Health Organization is like, “Oh man, we have, like, a global health problem—this is a pandemic.” And China reacted by quarantining everyone. People weren't allowed to leave their house, leave the cities. I can imagine, probably, just a crazy time to be in China. You’re, kind of, like imprisoned, but also it seems like they don't even know really how it’s spread. I mean, they said it's respiratory, so coughing, sneezing, stuff like that. But it seems like from the reports I've read that even wearing masks aren't really going to help that much. You just, kind of, are unlucky if you're near someone that has it. So, maybe don't be friends with anyone that went to China, recently.

Ian: Stay away from those people.

Paige: Yeah, exactly. But, Ian, for you, I mean, obviously we've had other pandemics. This coronavirus, is it something that you would be afraid to go anywhere in Asia? Are you afraid here in Chile?

Ian: So, I mean, due to media and everything that's going on—the reports and everything—yeah, definitely, I'd be nervous. It wouldn't be my choice right now to go travel to China in particular—I’d probably avoid China. But, you know, if I had plans to take a trip to somewhere else in Asia, that maybe wasn't the hotspot of where it's spreading, then I'd probably just be extra careful or try to be careful. But at the same time, it's something that's, like, pretty avoidable. You don't go to those areas, if you don't need to go to those areas. So, at the same time, I think I'll be postponing my trip to China for a little while until the dust settles on this. And what about you? Is that something that makes you scared or something that would make you avoid going to certain places too?

Paige: Honestly, no. I'm, kind of, not the type of person to worry about things that are hypothetical. Like, if I got coronavirus I would be like, “Oh, bummer. Now I should worry.” But, I don't know, I've never been a person to worry about things, unless they're real. So, like, if I had a plan to go to Thailand, yeah, I'd probably have precautions but I wouldn't, like, cancel my trip or not sleep at night. I was reading this article in New York Times about how it's spreading and, I think, it just shows globalization. I mean, you have this this outbreak, and it's all over the world now because everyone travels. It's so easy to fly around the world that, you know, it started in this small town in China and now it's in Japan, it's in the Philippines, it’s in Australia, it's in the US, it's in Canada—it’s everywhere. And it's just like that.  So, I think, that was kind of surprising when I saw that article because it's like, wow you, like, can't contain diseases like you used to because everyone's moving around constantly. And quick reminder, don't forget if you want to advance your English more, learn more, go online to dynamicenglish.cl where you can take private classes, you can take group classes. You can even now take classes online.

Ian: I can't even imagine what the challenge is like being a researcher or being, you know, someone in the World Health Organization who they're faced with the task of figuring out the way to eradicate this. I mean, you know, this brand-new virus, and, you know, so many people are getting it—it's spreading so fast. I can't imagine being one of the scientists tasked with figuring out this problem. I'm sure they're not sleeping at all. And, you know, like you said, globalization just makes things spread so much easier. Not just information, like, we see with technology but, yeah, these physical things, like these diseases, like these ailments. And that presents a whole new challenge of, you know, how do we keep these things from spreading worldwide when, you know, something starts just in a pocket of the world? And so, yeah, I think we see as technology is increasing, as globalization is increasing, these complications of containing, you know, viruses and other things are also increasing. And so, I think, every day we think the world's getting more and more complicated and we see that happening each time these things come around. So, it'll be interesting to see what happens. For sure. And even more so, we see impacts in all facets of the world, like all facets of life. It's not just with health and with travel—you see financial markets taking huge hits as well. Yesterday was the biggest loss on the Dow Jones that's happened in over two years. There's a loss of over 1.000 points, which is a huge loss and so.

Paige: And that’s because of the coronavirus?

Ian: Yeah, just because of news that the coronavirus is not slowing down so much, it's almost to the level of being called an actual, technical pandemic. And so, what happens is, you know, this is affecting all world markets. So, obviously, I think that people staying alive and health is more important than the markets, but you just see how it's not just affecting one part of the world, it affects every single part of everything that goes on. And so, yeah, like I said, we have fingers crossed, have faith in the researchers and the people trying to solve this vaccine. But, you know, we'll see how long it takes.

Paige: I think, not to be all doom and gloom, some positives is, you know, looking at the research, it seems like it's not something that you contract and immediately die—it's not a death sentence. Reading an article, it said only two percent of people that get coronavirus die from it. So, that's good news that, say unfortunately, you do contract the virus, you're not likely going to die. The odds are in your favor, that you'll just have a bad flu, go to the doctor and recover. So, I think when it first came out, I thought it was kind of like this, like, zombie disease that you, like, immediately die from. But, it's kind of nice that, okay you get the flu, that sucks. But, you know, you're not immediately going to die.

Ian: Yeah, it's funny that you mentioned that. It reminded you something of, like, almost like a zombie apocalypse, kind of, feeling because of the way the media presents it, you do think that. I actually, you know, the more I started reading about it, the more it started to sound like, what you said, like zombie apocalypse. And now, I don't know if this video is true or if it was fabricated, but I've even heard about a video of, there's a woman in China, she left her house and she's walking in the street. And, like, a drone flies by her and says, “You need to go back in your house. You know, you're not wearing a mask, you're a danger to others, you might get sick.” And these are the kind of things that are like these dystopian sort of books or films that we read about, you know? Where you have the government robots telling you to go back to your house because there's an outbreak. And these are things in a movie you'd see but now it's happening in real life and it's a little scary. It's a glimpse into, like, the future of, like I said, like these dystopian and technological kind of societies and it's a little bit scary.

Paige: Interesting too, like, coronavirus sounds like almost like a cocktail that you would order.

Ian: At a bar: “Hi, can I get the coronavirus?”

Paige: Yeah, like, when it first came out, I was like, “Coronavirus? Like, why is it called that?” But I guess it's because of, like, the actual virus, the bacteria is in the shape of a crown. So that's why it's called “coronavirus.”

Ian: That makes sense.  

Paige: But there's this funny meme that I saw on social media that, I guess, Justin Bieber has Lyme disease. So, they're like, “Oh, if Justin Bieber contracts the coronavirus, he'll have “Corona with Lyme (lime).” I was like, “Ah, that's actually pretty funny.”

Ian: That’s a good way to make light of something a little bad, yeah.

Paige: Obviously this is something very serious, people are dying from it, people are getting infected. But hopefully, as Ian was saying, that we'll have it contained and there'll be less of an impact. So, fingers crossed.

Ian: Yeah, make sure you wear your mask when you leave your house or the drone will tell you to go back inside.

Paige: Exactly. So again, if you get lost check the audio guide transcript online. Thanks for listening.

Ian: We'll catch you next time.

 Paige: “Coffee with Gringos” was brought to you by Dynamic English, where you can learn English simply by using it. If you’re interested in taking classes or just want to learn more, go to our website at dynamicenglish.cl. Thanks for listening.

Key Vocabulary, Phrases and Slang:

 1.    pandemic (noun): disease which is present and spreading all over the world.

a.     The last major pandemic was SARS in 2003.

2.     host (noun): something that contains particular living things, diseases in this case.

a.     The rainforest is host to a number of tropical diseases.

3.     vaccine (noun): substance used to increase immunity and to fight off disease in the body.

a.     Vaccines have been incredibly effective at fighting off diseases.  

4.     outbreak (noun): sudden start and/or spread of disease.

a.     The outbreak started in China and began to spread other countries.  

5.     to surpass (verb): be greater than something.

a.     The death toll will surpass other recent world pandemics.  

6.     to quash (verb): to end, to finish.

a.     The spread of the disease needs to be quashed as soon as possible.

7.     to quarantine (verb): to isolate and separate people who might have contracted a disease in order to prevent spreading it to others.

a.     Many countries are quarantining their citizens during the pandemic.   

8.     imprisoned (adjective): not allowed to leave somewhere; trapped; feeling like being in prison.

a.     The citizens are feeling imprisoned as they aren’t allowed to leave their homes.  

9.     respiratory (adjective): relating to breathing and breathing organs like lungs.

a.     The pandemic is a respiratory disease which can make it difficult to breathe.

10.  hotspot (noun): place of highest amount of danger.

a.     China was the original hotspot for the spread of the disease.

11.  to postpone (verb): to move or schedule something for a later time.

a.     The company is postponing all personal meetings until the pandemic decreases.

12.  until the dust settles (idiom): until something is decreased, finished or solved.

a.     I’m going to wait until the dust settles on the virus before I travel again.

13.  hypothetical (adjective): something that is possible but not necessarily real or true.

a.     She is always asking hypothetical questions that make you think deeply.

14.  globalization (noun): the growth and development of society on an international scale.

a.     Technology has increased globalization significantly in recent years.  

15.  to eradicate (verb): to get rid of, to destroy, to end something.

a.     Eradicating diseases are the purpose for developing new vaccines.

16.  ailment (noun): sickness, disease.

a.     There are many victims suffering from ailments caused by globalization.

17.  facet (noun): particular aspect or feature of something bigger.

a.     The pandemic is causing changes to all facets of life and the world.

18.  Dow Jones (noun): stock market index that includes large companies in the U.S.

a.     The Dow Jones has fallen greatly since the coronavirus announcement.

19.  fingers crossed (idiom): to hope for something, to wish good luck for something.

a.     Fingers crossed, scientists will soon develop a vaccine for the new virus.

20.  doom and gloom (phrase): feeling of pessimism or negativity towards something.

a.     People are feeling doom and gloom everywhere during this difficult time.

21.  to contract (verb): to catch or develop a disease.

a.     His mom contracted the virus whenever she traveled to Italy for vacation last week.

22.  apocalypse (noun): final destruction and end of the world.

a.     Many people are stressed and think that the apocalypse is near.

23.  to fabricate (verb): to invent or create something untrue.

a.     The video was fabricated to cause panic on the internet.

24.  drone (noun): remote-controlled machine or aircraft without a pilot.

a.     The drones flew around the city warning the citizens not to leave their homes.

25.  dystopian (adjective): imagined society which is heavily controlled by the government and with great suffering and injustice.

a.     ‘1984’ is a classic book about a dystopian society.

26.  glimpse (noun): short or temporary look at something.

a.     I got a glimpse of the train as it moved through the station.

27.  cocktail (noun): alcoholic drink with mixed ingredients.

a.     I like to get a cocktail as soon as I arrive to a new hotel.

28.  Lyme disease (noun): disease contracted from insects called ticks that causes body pain.

a.     Lyme disease is a major problem on the East coast of the U.S.

29.  Corona with Lyme (lime) (joke, play on words): Corona-brand beer and lime (fruit) is a popular drink. Coronavirus + Lyme = Corona with Lyme (lime).  

a.     If Justin Beiber gets the coronavirus, he’ll have Corona with Lyme.

30.  to make light (of something): to act as if something isn’t serious; to bring humor to something serious.

a.     It’s important to not make light of the situation if someone is in danger.