Bulletin No. 2, 2020

40 Chinese University Bulletin No.2, 2020 quarantine , n. A state of isolation in which one is put to contain an infectious disease. While quarantine is often enforced for 14 days in the pandemic, the Italian origin of the word, quarantina , means 40 days. A recent study from medical journal The Lancet notes that the psychological impact of quarantine can be great, resulting in a range of mental health concerns from anxiety and anger to sleep disturbances, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 4 curfew , n. A ban on going out at night. Comes from the old French word for the act of ‘covering’ a fire and used to refer to a rule requiring fires to be put out after a certain time in the evening. Took on the current meaning in the late 19 th century. A curfew would likely draw significant pushback from businesses on the brink of financial ruin after months of pandemic restrictions. 5 microcough , n. A cough suppressed for fear of being thought of as a patient. An Internet invention during the pandemic. I was walking through the grocery store and I had a tickle in my throat but I didn’t want people to think I was contagious so I let out a microcough . 6