How is COVID-19 spread?

COVID-19 can be passed from person to person through droplets from coughs and sneezes. COVID-19 has been detected in people all over the world, and is considered a pandemic.

The spread of this new coronavirus is being monitored by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization and health organizations.

How did this new coronavirus spread to humans?

COVID-19 appeared in Wuhan, a city in China, in December 2019. Although health officials are still tracing the exact source of this new coronavirus, early hypotheses thought it may be linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, China. Some people who visited the market developed viral pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus. A study that came out on Jan. 25, 2020, notes that the individual with the first reported case became ill on Dec. 1, 2019, and had no link to the seafood market. Investigations are ongoing as to how this virus originated and spread.

What is the incubation period for COVID-19?

It appears that symptoms are showing up in people within 14 days of exposure to the virus.

What are symptoms of COVID-19?

COVID-19 symptoms include:

• Cough
• Fever
• Shortness of breath

In rare cases, COVID-19 can lead to severe respiratory problems, kidney failure or death.

If you have a fever or any kind of respiratory difficulty such as coughing or shortness of breath, call your doctor or a health care provider and explain your symptoms over the phone before going to the doctor’s office, urgent care facility or emergency room. Here are suggestions if you feel sick and are concerned you might have COVID-19.

If you have a medical emergency such as severe shortness of breath, call 911 and let them know about your symptoms.

How is COVID-19 diagnosed?

Diagnosis may be difficult with only a physical exam because mild cases of COVID-19 may appear similar to the flu or a bad cold. A laboratory test can confirm the diagnosis.

How is COVID-19 treated?

As of now, there is not a specific treatment for the virus. People who become sick from COVID-19 should be treated with supportive measures: those that relieve symptoms. For severe cases, there may be additional options for treatment, including research drugs and therapeutics.

Does COVID-19 cause death?

As of Mar. 21, 2020, 11,906 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19. However, 89,899 people have recovered from the illness.

Is this coronavirus different from SARS?

SARS stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome. In 2003, an outbreak of SARS started in China and spread to other countries before ending in 2004. The virus that causes COVID-19 is similar to the one that caused the 2003 SARS outbreak: both are types of coronaviruses. Much is still unknown, but COVID-19 seems to spread faster than the 2003 SARS and also may cause less severe illness.

How do you protect yourself from this coronavirus?

It’s crucial to practice good hygiene, respiratory etiquette and social distancing. Read more about ways to protect yourself.

About Coronaviruses

• Coronaviruses are common in different animals. Rarely, an animal coronavirus can infect humans.
• There are many different kinds of coronaviruses. Some of them can cause colds or other mild respiratory (nose, throat, lung) illnesses.
• Other coronaviruses can cause more serious diseases, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
• Coronaviruses are named for their appearance: Under the microscope, the viruses look like they are covered with pointed structures that surround them like a corona, or crown.

Words

Outbreak (epidemic, a sudden increase)

Respiratory  (relating to respiration; breathing)

Illness  (a bodily disorder, disease or physical sickness)

Cough  (a sudden, usually noisy expulsion of air from the lungs, often involuntary)

Sneeze  (an emission of wind audibly by the nose)

To detect  (to discover, find out, lay open, reveal)

Pneumonia (an acute or chronic inflammation of the lungs caused by viruses)

Individual (single, distinct, sole of a particular person, a member of a population)

Investigation  (a detailed examination, the process of research)

Incubation  (the development of a disease from its causes, period between infection and clinical manifestation of disease)

Exposure  (the condition of being exposed, uncovered, or unprotected)

Facility  (easiness, services and space and equipment provided for a particular purpose)

Severe  (strict, harsh, intense)

Diagnosis  (determination of the distinctive nature of a disease)

Therapeutic  (relating to the art or act of curing)

Crucial  (important)

Rarely  (not often, seldom)

To infect  (to bring into contact with a substance that can cause illness)

Serious  (critical)

Crown  (wreath)

The post English News: Coronavirus captures the world, so what’s Coronavirus? appeared first on Learn English Fondly.

English News

A rare natural phenomenon which makes it look like wheels of snow have been rolled on their own has been captured in photos.

Six rare “snow rollers” were spotted by Brian Bayliss in Wiltshire.

He said he spotted them in a field he owns and at first thought they had been manmade but there were no footprints.

It is thought the bales are formed when wind conditions are ideal to blow chunks of snow along, picking up more snow along the way.

Forestry worker Mr Bayliss, 51, said he had “never seen anything like it before” and when he got closer he “could see the sun through the middle, and they just made no sense”.

He captured the images shortly after sunrise on Saturday.

BBC weatherman Ian Fergusson said it was “very rare” that conditions were so perfect that snow rollers could be formed.

“These are truly beautiful photos of a very rare meteorological phenomenon – called snow rollers or snow bales. Brian was very lucky to see these,” Mr Fergusson said.

“Conditions have to be just right for snow rollers to occur: a smooth, un-vegetated hillside, such as in this case near Marlborough, enhances the chance of them being formed.

“A layer of thin snow, settled atop existing ice and not sticking to it, combined with specific temperature, moisture level and wind speed, are fundamental to the creation of these natural oddities.”

If the wind is too strong, or too weak, or the snow is too tightly packed, snow rollers will not form.

The resulting snowballs look like a hay bale, a doughnut or a Swiss roll, and can be hollow inside.

Words

To rare (scarce)

Phenomenon (event)

To capture (to take control of)

Snow Rollers (snow that is rouleau loop)

Bale (bundle)

Chunk (heap)

Truly (certainly)

Lucky (fortunate)

To enhance (to augment)

Layer (stratum)

Moisture (humidity)

Fundamental (basic)

Wind (breeze)

Oddity (ridiculousness)

Hollow (hole)

Doughnut (hoop, circle)

The post English News: Rare Snow Rollers Spotted In Field Near Marlborough, England appeared first on Learn English Fondly.

English News

Milk traders in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu have complained to police over the rampant theft of milk ahead of movie releases in the state.

Milk traders say they face heavy losses as a result.

On certain religious occasions, Hindus pour milk over idols of deities but many fans have adopted this practice in the hope that a film will become a hit.

The ritual, which is called “paalabhishekam”, involves pouring milk over huge posters and cut-outs of superstars before the release of their film.

“It is a practice for worshipping gods – not film stars,” the president of the state’s milk traders association said

SA Ponnusamy, who heads the association, told the BBC that the craze had been around for more than 20 years. “Fans across the state do it because they equate the stars in the film to demigods,” he added.

On Tuesday, Tamil actor Silambarasan put out a video asking fans to celebrate the release of his upcoming film by pouring “pots” of milk over his cut-outs, which could be found across the capital, Chennai (formerly Madras).

The video went viral, prompting the Tamil Nadu Milk Dealers Association to take action.

The union demanded the Prohibition of pouring milk on film posters, making a formal complaint to the police.

Police assured the milkmen that they would take the necessary measures.

How are they stealing?

Packets of milk arrive on trucks from dairy farms early in the morning and are often left outside shops that sell dairy products.

Cinegoers steal them as they are left unguarded for a few hours.

Mr Ponnusamy has been campaigning against the custom since 2015 – he even posts on social media groups of different fan clubs to dissuade them from stealing milk. The association has also reached out to Tamil superstars Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan, asking for their help.

A spokesperson for Rajinikanth, one of Asia’s best-paid stars with a devoted fan base, told the BBC that “fan groups aren’t controlled by the actor”.

“We have requested them not to indulge in this practice but they see it as a form of celebration,” he added.

“But it still continues,” Mr Ponnuswamy said.

To complain  (to remonstrate)

Rampant  (spreading)

Theft  (robber)

To pour  (to spill)

Idol  (idol)

Deity  (god)

To release  (to launch)

Worshipping  (glorification)

Demigod  (deific hero)

Viral  (viral)

Prohibition  (ban)

Dairy  (daily basis)

To steal  (to rob)

To dissuade  (to prepossess)

To indulge  (not to deprive)

The post English News: Why Are Cinegoers Stealing Milk? appeared first on Learn English Fondly.

English News

Police find a tunnel. It is on the border between the USA and Mexico. It starts in a house in Mexico. It leads to a KFC restaurant in the USA. The restaurant is old and closed.

This is a tunnel for smuggling drugs. Police arrest the KFC’s owner. However, they want to find more guilty people. Making a tunnel between the USA and Mexico is a crime.

WORDS

border (the line between two countries)

smuggle (move something illegal to another country)

owner (a person who owns – has something)

guilty (a person guilty of a crime does/did the crime).

The post English News: Tunnel in a KFC appeared first on Learn English Fondly.

English News:

It was in the 1980s that many of us became aware that small individual actions could harm the planet itself.

Hairsprays were cited as one of the causes of the hole in the Antarctic ozone layer. People were told to wear sunscreen to avoid skin cancer as the layer thinned and more UV light got through.

By 1987 world governments had agreed to ban most of the ozone-eating chemicals.

The World Meteorological Organisation say at last the ozone layer is showing signs of thickening, although it will be a while before they know if the hole is actually healing.

The same organisation warned earlier this week that climate change was heading in the opposite direction with greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a record level.

The post English News: Ozone layer recovering appeared first on Learn English Fondly.