World on High Alert Over Coronavirus Outbreak

Numerous countries including Korea went on high alert over a deadly virus in January.

An outbreak of the coronavirus began in China, but it quickly spread to other parts of the world.

The coronavirus is a large family of viruses that can cause various diseases, ranging from a mild cold to respiratory failure and pneumonia.

In 2002 and 2003, a strain of the virus was at the center of the deadly SARS epidemic.

In January, a new strain of coronavirus was discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

It proved to be highly contagious, infecting thousands of people in Wuhan and then quickly spreading to other regions in China.

The Chinese government took drastic measures to prevent further infection of the deadly virus.

It put the entire city of Wuhan on lockdown, and then later expanded the quarantine to other cities.

Trains, planes, and other transportation to and from these areas were cut off.

Meanwhile, major tourist destinations and movie theaters throughout China were shut down.

People wore masks and avoided crowded places out of fear of getting infected.

Unfortunately, this has not completely stopped the spreading of the coronavirus.

Over 20,000 cases of infection were reported within China by early February.

A handful of new cases were even found abroad, including Korea, Japan, Thailand, the United States, and Europe.

Most of these overseas cases involved people who had recently visited Wuhan.

Due to this, Korea and other countries evacuated its nationals from Wuhan and nearby Chinese cities.

Also, international airports began carefully screening all passengers flying in from China for the virus.

The exact cause of the latest strain of the coronavirus is yet unknown.

Some medical authorities believe that is emerged in late 2019 at a Wuhan seafood market, where wild animals were illegally sold.

Early symptoms of the virus include fever, sore throat, and breathing difficulties.

 

• outbreak ˈaʊtbreɪk (전쟁·사고·질병 등의) 발생[발발]  go on high alert over 에 대해 비상 경계 태세에 들어갔다.

• range reɪndʒ (변화차이의) 범위[폭]  ranging 범위가 ~에 이르는  respiratory ˈrespərətɔːri 호흡의, 호흡 기관의  pneumonia nuː|moʊniə 폐렴

• strain streɪn (근육 등을) 혹사하다[무리하게 사용하다], 염좌[좌상]를 입다 / 부담, 중압[압박](감) / 변종(變種), 품종(品種)

• epidemic ˌepɪˈdemɪk 유행병, 유행성 (전염병)  contagious kənˈteɪdʒəs 전염되는, 전염성의  drastic |dræstɪk 과감한, 극단적인, 급격한

• measures 방안, 방법, 조치  measure ˈmeʒə (치수양 등을 표준 단위로) 측정하다[재다]  lockdown |lɑːkdaʊn (움직임·행동에 대한) 제재

• quarantine |kwɔːrəntiːn 격리하다 (전염병 확산을 막기 위한 동물사람의) 격리  evacuate ɪˈvækjueɪt (위험 지역에서 사람들을) 대피[소개(疏開)]시키다

• national ˈnæʃnəl (특정 국가의) 국민[시민] (한 사람) / 국가의, 전국적인, 전 국민의  screening  (질병·결격 사유 등을 찾기 위한) 검사[심사],상영[방영]

• emerge iˈmɜːrdʒ 나오다[모습을 드러내다]  드러나다, 알려지다 (=transpire)