Read the following text and answer the questions below:

On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus crisis a pandemic. It was reminding people that the word is used only for the most extreme and dangerous situations. The virus is now present in 213 countries and territories worldwide.

COVID-19 is infectious and contagious. Infectious describes diseases that are spread through the environment. It is easily passed person to person. The new coronavirus has spread quickly partly because those infected can be contagious before they even know they are sick. In other words, those people are asymptomatic.

Experts know that asymptomatic people can spread the disease. This is partly why officials are urging people to stay at home as much as possible. In some cases, whole countries were put in lockdown.

Most people around the world are social distancing. The World Health Organization is now using the term physical distancing instead of social distancing. As Dr. Maria Kerkhove of the WHO said in the early days of the pandemic: Were changing to say physical distance and thats on purpose, because we want people to still remain connected."

Social distancing is less extreme than quarantine and isolation. Isolation separates sick people who have a contagious disease from people who are not sick. Quarantine restricts the movement of people who were around a contagious person to see if they get sick. In the case of COVID-19, the recommended quarantine period is two weeks, or 14 days. The word was first used in the 1400s in Europe and meant a period of about 40 days.

Many experts say in order for it to be safe for places to reopen, widespread testing and contact tracing need to be in place. Tracers work with confirmed COVID-19 patients to learn whom they have been close to. The tracers then inform those people that they may have been infected.

Social distancing, isolation and quarantining are all done to help flatten the curve. It means to slow the spread of disease. This eases the pressure on emergency and health care resources.

Hospitals, in most areas, have a limited number of beds and breathing machines, called ventilators. The health care industry is also limited in respirators. These are special masks, or nose and mouth covers for medical workers to protect themselves from contagious patients.

WHO and partners are racing to develop and deploy safe and effective vaccines. Vaccines work by training and preparing the bodys natural defenses - the immune system- to recognize and fight off the viruses and bacteria they target.

1. What is the main idea of the second paragraph?

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2. What does the phrase passed person to person mean?

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3. Explain in two sentences what the difference is between infectious and contagious. (Research the topic on the Internet).

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4. Why are social distancing and quarantine recommended?

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5. Find a word in the text that means limit.

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6. Look up the word physical in a dictionary. What adjectives could you replace it with in this context?

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7. Why was coronavirus crisis declared "pandemic"?

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8. What main verb would you use to replace the verb (urging)?

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9. Why did the World Health Organization change the term "social distancing" into "physical distancing"?

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10. WHO Officials say we should take the new coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible. Do you agree or disagree? Write down in three sentences or less some of the points that support your view.