THE CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES: NEW NORMAL SPEAK FOR COMMUNICATORS
WITHOUT a doubt, the coronavirus pandemic has changed everything. And that includes the way we speak, and the way we write.
Within a few months, we have become acquainted with epidemiological words and phrases that have defined the time we are living in. These are frequently used in public briefings, newscasts, and even in ordinary conversations.
What is interesting for communicators is that some of these terms have been around for some time, and their origins are quite noteworthy, as we will see below:
The Institutions
n The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. Established on April 7, 1948, it is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHO’S mandate includes advocating for universal health care, monitoring public health risks, coordinating responses to health emergencies, and promoting human health and well-being.
n RITM (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine)
The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine is a health research facility in Muntinlupa established on April 23, 1981. Since then, it has emerged as a center for excellence in health research using the tools available in epidemiology, clinical medicine supported by microbiology, parasitology, public health, virology, immunology, molecular biology, pathology, and behavioral/social science.
RITM provides state-of-the-art facilities dedicated to research, training, clinical care, and biologicals manufacturing. It houses laboratories, hospital facilities, an insolate bank, and dormitory.
Health matters
n PPE or personal protective equipment is equipment that will protect the user against health or safety risks at work. It can include items such as safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear, and safety harnesses. It also includes respiratory protective equipment (RPE).
n PUM and PUI. These are classifications of individuals who may have the coronavirus. A person under monitoring or PUM has a travel history in the past 14 days to areas with issued travel restrictions especially with cases of coronavirus. They usually have no signs or symptoms and warrant monitoring for 14 days.
A person under investigation (PUI), on the other hand, has fever or cough and a travel history in the past 14 days to areas with travel restrictions or a history of exposure to Covid 19.
On April 11, the Department of Health issued a new classification—suspect, Probable, and Confirmed.
n Contact tracing. Time Magazine’s daily coronavirus newsletter describes contact tracing as “a little like detective work. Trained staff interview people who have been diagnosed with a contagious disease to figure out who they may have recently been in contact with.”
Then, “they go tell these people they may have been exposed, sometimes encouraging them to quarantine themselves to prevent spreading the disease any further.”
The technique, which Time describes as “part public health, and part investigation,” was used during the 2014 Ebola virus outbreak as well as the SARS outbreak in 2003. It is also used to combat sexually transmitted infections and other communicable diseases like tuberculosis.
Today, contact tracing is a “cornerstone of preventive medicine,” says Dr. Laura Beeher, medical director of occupational health services at the Mayo Clinic.
“Contact tracing,” she says, “is having a moment of glory right now with Covid because of the crucial importance of identifying those individuals who have been exposed quickly and isolating or quarantining themselves.”
n Flatten the curve. According to Michigan Radio, the term was coined by University of Michigan medical historian Dr. Howard Markel while conducting research with the CDC regarding flu outbreaks in 2005.
Markel and his colleagues designed a study of the 1918-19 flu pandemic to compare cities that did flatten the curve—taking measures to reduce a spike (or tall curve) in infections and instead stretching them out over a longer (flatter) period of time—with those that didn’t.
And indeed, Markel says, “the cities that we studied that did those things did far better than those that did not.”
His study has certainly gone a long way, as today, “it’s the idea that society can slow the rate of infection for taking measures like canceling events, closing businesses, or sheltering in place. The hope is to reduce the number of patients who need urgent medical care all at once.”
Social matters
n New normal is a current state in being after some dramatic change—like the coronavirus pandemic—has transpired. Learning a new normal like we are today means a change in lifestyle, and sometimes in our attitude
It has its roots in financial conditions following the financial crisis of 2007- 2008 and the aftermath of the 2008-2012 global recession. The term has since been used in a variety of other contexts to imply that something which has been previously abnormal has become commonplace.
It was coined in 2009 by Elerian and his colleagues at Pacific Investment Management Co. to describe their meager outlook for global activity: slower growth and more regulation.
n WFH or work from home has emerged as part of today’s new normal lifestyle because of lockdowns to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
WFH is a concept where the employees can do their job outside of the office. It offers the flexibility to achieve company goas while supporting a healthy work/life balance, cutting down on commuting time and costs, as well as fostering a comfortable work environment. In today’s context, many companies have adapted this concept, allowing their employees to work from home so the balance between business continuity and health safety can be established.
n Social distancing. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, social distancing means keeping space between yourself and other people outside of your home.
This means staying at lease 6 feet (2 meters) from other people, not gathering in groups, and staying out of crowded places and avoiding mass gathering.
CDC adds that “keeping space between you and others is one of the best tools we have to avoid being exposed to this virus and slowing its spread locally and across the country and the world.”
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie F. Dizon, the senior vice president for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the former local chairman.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.