Yesterday the people behind the Merriam-Webster Dictionary announced their word of the year: pandemic. According to the announcement, words of the year are chosen based on a statistical analysis of words that are looked up in extremely high numbers in the company’s online dictionary while also showing a significant year-over-year increase in traffic.
Although the first spike in searches happened Feb. 3 (the same day the first known COVID-19 patient in the U.S. was released from the hospital), lookups had been increasing consistently starting on Jan. 20. The single largest spike occurred on March 11, when the World Health Organization officially declared that COVID-19 could be characterized as a pandemic. Unlike other popular words, searches for “pandemic” have remained at or near the top of the most-searched list for the past 10 months. Other COVID-19 related terms also made the top 10 list, including asymptomatic, quarantine and coronavirus.
So, what’s the official definition? “An outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area (such as multiple countries or continents) and typically affects a significant proportion of the population.”
If you’re a word nerd, you will enjoy reading more about this story on the Merriam-Webster website.
I share this not because it’s a particularly important story, but because it’s that time of year. Year in review articles are being written, top 10 lists are coming out, the holidays are upon us, and 2020 is coming to an end. I find this still a little hard to believe.
Thanksgiving follow up, part 1
Speaking of the holidays, I hope you were able to enjoy your Thanksgiving, as different as it may have been this year. Just the practice of setting aside time to be thankful is important to our overall sense of well-being, especially now. A recent study on the topic, found that grateful individuals may be inclined to see the good in people and situations, which could result in a more compassionate and less critical view of others and themselves.
That same study found that gratitude exercises really only help a little. It’s got to come from the heart and be part of your overall outlook on life.
Thanksgiving follow up, part 2
Now onto the reality of Thanksgiving 2020: If you gathered with people outside your household or traveled, the County of San Diego public health officer urges you to:
1. Get a COVID-19 test
2. Decrease unnecessary activities this week to avoid spreading the virus, in case you have contracted it and don’t know yet
The County operates more than 50 testing sites throughout the region, but the recommendation is to start with your own health care provider. All providers are required to provide diagnostic COVID-19 testing free of charge for patients. (Some clinics charge for specialized or quick-result tests.) For more information on testing, visit 211sandiego.org or call 2-1-1.
Hospitals and ICU status
Yesterday the governor and the state’s top health official held a news conference to give an update on the recent surge in cases affecting most counties in the state (including San Diego). As cases increase, state officials will be looking at hospital capacity in general and ICU beds in particular as a key measure when deciding whether or not additional health restrictions are needed. They hinted that if things don’t improve, we could see a temporary return of the stay at home order.
Statewide, hospitalizations have increased by 89% in the last two weeks. And, hospitalizations are a lagging indicator, showing up two to three weeks after cases are reported. Because on average about 12% of cases require hospitalization, the state is expecting hospitalizations to increase more still, and that’s not counting any increase in cases as a result of holiday-related gatherings. Those cases will not likely show up as reported cases for another week or two.
