This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 1350, how to talk about the coronavirus in English.
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Hey, Michelle, how are you feeling today?
How are you feeling?
Knock on wood, I'm feeling okay, but oh my gosh, it's getting scary out there.
I know, knock on wood.
I mean the other day, you know, I walked to my favorite coffee shop, which I think is no longer my favorite one anymore because of what happened.
Um, first of all, they overcharge you on coffee.
And, second of all, I walked in and the guy serving me had an awful cold, but you could tell that he had a cold.
He was very stuffy.
You could, any word he said, you could tell he's like very stuffed up.
And then I asked for a small coffee, took my coffee.
He's got my coffee going under the coffee thing, the drip coffee.
And then he sneezes like, Oh no.
Any other circumstances, I wouldn't care.
But these days, we're getting a little paranoid about these things.
What's going on, Michelle?
What is going on?
Well, we are in the midst of this coronavirus crisis, really.
Yeah.
So, I mean, we're going to talk about this today, guys, because this is what's going on.
I mean, today, you know, we record these episodes in advance, so I'm hoping...
That by the time this episode comes out, knock on wood, by maybe things will have settled down.
I'm not that hopeful, unfortunately.
So guys, we are talking about this right now at an earlier time that this episode is airing.
But I think it's still really important to talk about this.
Yeah, who knows?
I mean, it's March 4th right now.
This comes out on April 20th.
Things could be very different, because things have changed really fast with this virus.
You know, either in either direction.
I feel like in China, it seems like it's slowed down quickly.
And then around the world, it's speeding up really quickly.
So we just don't know.
So, guys, we could sound like fools by the time this comes out.
Right.
We're taking a chance.
We're taking a chance, because it is one of those things that everyone in the world is experiencing or is vulnerable to, which is interesting because there are very few things that bring us all together.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Exactly.
And, you know, I mean, I notice on Instagram, a lot of people are commenting on posts.
I think I had a post over the weekend and people are saying, oh, I'm I'm inside.
I can't let you know, in such and such country and people are asking about it.
So you guys you guys want to be able to talk about it.
I mean, even though it's not. a fun thing to be able to talk about.
It's something that we all share and it's going around the world.
And I've had also students in class asking me about it.
And so it's really important that we touch on this subject.
But I'm hoping when this episode comes out, we can all say, okay, it's all over anyway.
But in any case, this is...
What we're teaching today is really good for really talking about any illness or preventing illness.
Yeah, absolutely.
And guys, we're going to put the vocabulary words from today into the iOS app personal power vocabulary loop list.
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Go to allearsenglishcom, slash bonuses, do the seven day free trial and then get in as a premium user, because you'll be able to save the words that you want to add to your personal vocabulary.
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It's so cool.
Yeah yeah, yeah.
Guys, there is a lot of vocabulary for today um, to talk about this, and you know um, i mean, people are really it's now.
I mean so now, the latest, for i mean on my end, is that it's in new york.
Um, we've had many, many cases.
Have there been any around your area, lindsay?
I haven't heard of any, but there's definitely like a paranoia.
This is like the underlying aspects of when there is something going on, something spreading.
You think if someone has a cough, you just think maybe they have it.
And that's really those are the social issues that I'm worried about.
Right.
Oh, yeah.
What's this?
How are people going to become isolated?
How are people going to become discriminated against?
Right.
That's a big one.
These are the big issues that really, really matter.
And then, of course, people are dying, which is a disaster.
I mean, oh, my gosh.
So how many people have it now in New York?
I think I heard six maybe.
Wow.
I'm not, I'm not quite sure, but yeah, I mean, it's, it's, have you been, do you follow it a lot?
Do you, or do you kind of, you know, sink into it or do you try and stay away?
I feel like it's hard not to, I guess I get the daily updates.
We do Alexa morning news briefings and she lets us know.
And it's amazing.
Sometimes it just like that number will climb overnight.
And I'm just like, wait, 900.
Last time I heard it was nine, you know, in any given country.
So it's just it's pretty shocking.
I mean, I would just say a few years ago I watched the movie Contagion and that just terrified me.
So no one should watch that movie right now.
Yeah.
Do not watch that movie.
I don't think that would be a good idea.
For sure.
For sure.
Yeah.
I mean, have you been?
I mean I think it's interesting because kind of the way it started, I think back to the way I felt about it when it first started.
Right.
And now the way I feel about it now.
And I guess I'm thinking... I remember when it first started, I was... you know, obviously upset.
And I felt so bad where, you know, where people are experiencing it.
And it wasn't in the US.
And I remember...
I spoke to some people I know who are from China and they were saying oh, they think it's going to stop and this will just get fixed.
And it seemed kind of in the beginning like it was just going to blow over and unfortunately, in china, it was already there in wuhan and it was terrible and there were a lot of illnesses and a lot of deaths already.
Um, and it seemed okay, this is terrible, hopefully it'll get dealt with and we can, you know, move on.
And now um, it seems like it's, You know, it's spreading everywhere in Italy, in Iran, in Korea Japan, right.
And in the US.
I know.
It's so crazy.
It's so crazy.
So are you doing anything different with your daily life these days, Michelle?
I mean... Well...
The funny thing is I'm a bit of a germaphobe to start off with.
I think we've talked about this a little bit before.
But I've always been a little bit like that, especially being in the city and the train and all this stuff.
So in a way, now everybody is catching up to me.
Yeah.
I mean, you know people, who you know.
Now they're saying you know, use hand sanitizer, wash your hands, all this stuff.
And these are things I've always been kind of aware of.
And I hope that a lot of people have been already.
But now it's really very much more formal and saying you have to do this.
Like, you know, I feel like I see the CDC.
What's the CDC, Lindsay?
The Centers for Disease Control.
Yeah.
The CDC.
You know, I remember when I used to live in New York.
New York worries me a little bit.
I used to get sick in New York all the time.
My roommate would get so mad at me because I would continue to go to work, because I didn't really have any.
We've talked about this in a prior episode.
I didn't really have any paid time off at my work, so I would keep going to work.
I'd be sick.
My roommate would get angry because she'd get sick at me.
Sorry, get sick because of me.
And it was just a big mess.
But New York is a place where you are just in the middle of it.
Right.
But then I wonder, if you're someone that stays home and works from home, maybe you don't have the built up antibodies that you need to protect.
Maybe if you live in New York, you're actually better off that your immune system is stronger.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I mean, yeah, because I was thinking about you because you work from home completely.
So in a way, that's interesting because I think, oh, you're totally protected.
But you don't not go out.
Exactly.
That guy that served my coffee.
You're not a hermit.
Exactly.
So I wonder.
I don't know.
That's more of an immune system thing.
Yeah, but what worries me about this is that Trump has gutted our government institutions that are supposed to protect us when this kind of situation comes up.
This should not be a political issue right now.
And I feel like in the news I've heard that it's become more of a political issue, especially some of the initial conferences, press conferences that he did.
He tried to downplay it, which is terrifying.
He did try.
Yeah.
And I think that, I don't know, giving a lot of misinformation.
And so yeah, I think that unfortunately, it has become a little bit political, but it really shouldn't, because we're all on the same page in terms of wanting to be healthy, wanting to survive.
And we don't want to deal with this.
So.
I don't know.
I think but a lot of things could change from this.
I mean, I think more people are working from home.
Like we just did an episode.
We just did an episode about health.
That was number 1336.
And we talked about sick days and working from home.
And I mean, this is what I think.
This is what I've been thinking now is that probably so many people have it. and it's not reported.
And they think they have like.
I know it's really bad, but I've also read that a lot of cases are mild.
And I have a feeling that people are getting really sick.
They think they just have something and that they actually have the coronavirus and they don't know.
And they're just out and about, you know, and not realizing that they really should be kind of Interesting.
And we do have this pressure still.
I think a lot of people are going to work.
You know, I mean the person who served you coffee.
I'm not saying he had it but, like you know, he probably doesn't think oh, I need to stay home.
He probably thinks I need to get paid.
Right.
Exactly.
Exactly.
That's that that's possible.
And it's possible that the people with the underlying, like my dad, for example he has an underlying respiratory disease not disease, but like he's, he has underlying respiratory issues.
And so he's one of the ones who could get quite sick.
Right.
But it's only.
I think right now it's around two or three percent of people that are actually dying of this.
But yeah, that's possible that more people do have it than than we realize.
And most immune systems can just take care of it.
Right.
Right, right.
So I don't know.
I don't know if that's true or not.
That's just kind of like what I've been thinking based on what I'm hearing and reading and everything.
And then, you know, we have the risk of recession here.
I mean... All bad news today.
Yeah.
Well, this is real life.
Unfortunately, this is one of the things that's going on.
I mean, I've heard about...
You know, like businesses that could be in trouble because of this.
And I mean, yeah, like a coffee shop.
I mean, they can't, the coffee shop can't work from home.
Yeah, for sure.
Of course.
Of course.
I mean, you know, last night I actually tried to.
I figured okay, I saw that hand sanitizer was not available on Amazon anymore.
So I just was like, Oh, I'll just be able to get at the grocery store.
I feel like I still kind of have this air of invincibility to me a little bit.
It's still one of those things that's happening out there that I feel like oh, it's not going to get me.
It's not going to be a problem.
I went to the grocery store.
Of course, there's no hand sanitizer there.
I didn't see it.
No.
And I'm like, wow, can I really not get hand sanitizer?
Is that true?
Wow.
So, yeah, really interesting.
There's so much to say about this, Michelle.
Oh, my gosh.
Yeah.
And I think also, you know, body language is going to be changing.
I mean, in the US we shake hands, hands all the time, and now they're saying you know, really try not to shake hands as much.
I mean, and this is, you know, around the world the idea of shaking hands is different and how much people touch each other and all of these things, and so this is also, i think, changing that.
And if somebody go i mean i went somewhere recently and somebody held out their hand to shake my hand And I thought I probably shouldn't be shaking hands but I felt I would be rude if I didn't.
And how do you say, sorry, I'm not shaking hands right now.
And so I did.
I just did and I sanitized.
So it's making you think about things that you didn't in the past.
Yeah, that's fascinating.
I know when I go into my Orange Theory class, the teacher always does a high five with every person entering the room and he said no touch this time, no high fives.
Yeah, well, that's smart.
Yeah, but it's interesting because this kind of situation shows us how much how in contact we are with each other.
Even if we think we're not, we aren't.
We really are.
And that's fascinating.
So what vocabulary can our listeners take away from this episode today so they could have these conversations?
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Right.
Well, definitely.
I mean, well, one of the first words that comes to my mind is quarantine.
What is quarantine?
Yeah, I don't know.
I've never completely understood this, but it's the idea of just isolating yourself because you could be contagious, right?
You could be contagious.
That's another good word.
Contagious means you are in a state of having an infection that could be spread.
Oh, there's so much vocabulary that can go along with this, actually.
I'm thinking incubation period.
That's how long you have it before you actually get symptoms.
So then also, you know, this idea of mass hysteria.
This is kind of causing hysteria, causing people to get very upset, to get very worried.
So that's another one.
Yeah, i don't know, i mean in my experience i don't know if we're quite at mass hysteria yet like i feel like it could get to that point, but i feel like we're yeah, we're maybe two notches below that and the way i see it, i don't know what's going on in new york, but No no, it's not quite.
I mean, it's not like everybody is, you know, talking about it.
Well, no, everyone is talking about it all the time.
What am I talking about?
Of course, everyone's talking about it all the time.
But it's not like people aren't taking.
I mean, the trains are still just as crowded, whether that's good or not.
They have to take, I mean, that's the way to get around New York.
You have no choice.
Right.
So you have to take the trains.
But I mean, what can we do?
I'll have like suits or something.
It's just, man, we're out there in the world.
I mean, what else?
So let's see.
We have, you know, preventing.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Trying to prevent.
Right.
Or taking precautions.
Right.
So what precautions are you taking?
Right.
Hand sanitizer, washing your hands for at least 20 seconds, different things like that.
Having good hand hygiene.
Oh, my gosh.
Yeah.
The one thing that they're saying is don't touch your face.
But I bite my nails sometimes.
I'm always like kind of touching my face.
So I think we all are.
That's one habit I'm trying to break right now, but it's not happening.
It's just not happening.
Yeah.
You never realize how much you touch your face until you're told don't touch your face.
Yeah.
And then you're like, oh my God, why can I not stop touching my face?
I have the same thing.
But it's interesting.
And thank goodness, it seems so far as of March 4th that children are not really getting this.
And I was talking, is it that they have the immune system?
It's like they already have certain antibodies that adults... don't have for this?
Is that what's going on?
I don't know.
I don't know.
I've been, you know, of course, I'm worried because I have a child.
And I've been, you know, looking into that.
And I have heard that it's not affecting... children as much.
I hate to say that because I'm just making, I don't want to jinx it.
You know that it really is a problem.
But yeah, I don't know.
That's what I've heard.
But I do worry about those with compromised immune systems.
Yeah, older people.
Yeah, yeah, that's, that's who it seems to be affecting a lot.
But also, I don't know, there's a lot of people.
Yeah, I mean, I had this.
I know there's a paranoia that sets in, right?
Like over the weekend, I flew home to Boston because we were there was a wedding that we went to.
Oh, yeah, I was.
And then I hung out with my niece and my parents.
It was awesome.
But yeah.
The guy next to me put on a mask and I'm thinking, why is he wearing that mask?
Is he trying to prevent something or is he trying not to spread something?
And I'm in a germ tube anyways.
Planes are just germ tubes.
I would call that a germ tube no matter whether something's going on or not.
And just the idea, you know, I always get a little bit sick when I fly anyways.
I always get a little bit of something when I have a travel weekend.
Yeah.
And so that was a little intense, you know, going to the airport.
And yeah, so no, no, no, I understand.
Yeah, it's definitely, definitely scary in those kinds of situations.
Yeah, with flying.
So what can our listeners do to start a conversation with someone about this?
Just real quick before we finish up, Michelle.
Yeah.
Well, they could say something like, are you following the news about the coronavirus?
Yeah.
Or have you been taking any special precautions?
Right.
That's that could be a way to start a conversation.
Right.
Mm hmm.
Yeah.
So, I mean, just really saying like, have you been following the news?
I mean, you can say things like, are you worried?
I mean, that's fine.
People are talking about this.
I mean I definitely.
I mean I've been hearing you know they've been.
You know people have been talking to me about masks.
Yeah.
And in the U.S., it's not very common that Americans wear these masks.
No, not at all.
And I wasn't sure if I would see a lot more of them.
I see a little bit more.
But yeah, it's not as common to wear the mask.
But I know that, you know, people are trying to get them and they can't.
Oh, boy.
Yeah.
Yeah, I don't know, guys, to be determined, right?
I mean, by this time, by the time this comes out, we'll know a lot more.
So we'll be able to hopefully engage on Instagram with a conversation here.
But give these words a try, you know, go out and start these conversations.
We have to be able to talk about these things.
If they're stressing us out, we need to be able to talk about it, right?
So now you guys have the tools you need.
What's the takeaway, Michelle?
Well, this is on everyone's mind, right?
This is something There is no way that There's no person who is not thinking about this, at least a little bit, right?
That's true.
So, I mean...
And you use it, guys.
I mean it's important sometimes to talk about these things because we know people are thinking about them.
And the only thing I would say is try getting your mind on something else.
We don't want to let this ruin us.
We have to live our lives.
We can't just say okay well, i'm just gonna not go outside unless, of course, you are forced to stay inside.
Right, that's a different story right, some people don't have that choice.
But you know if, if i don't know, i just don't think that we can let it rule our lives, And we have to live.
But guys, you know, take precautions.
Everyone stay safe.
And, you know, talk to people about it.
It's okay.
Yeah.
And if we want to, we can let ourselves get distracted with politics.
That was a big Super Tuesday primary last night in like multiple states.
And I would say I was pretty distracted with that and what happened.
We won't get into it today, but it was kind of a thrilling result, a surprising result.
A lot of people were shocked.
We might get into it tomorrow.
Okay.
We'll see.
We'll see if we come back to that.
All right, Michelle.
Okay.
All right.
Have a good one.
I'll talk to you soon.
Take care.
Bye.
Bye.
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