Glossary of the COVID-19 pandemic

The glossary of the COVID-19 pandemic is a list of definitions of terms relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has created and popularized many terms relating to disease and videoconferencing.

• Case investigation & contact tracing Fundamental activities that involve working with a person with COVID-19 (index case) who has been diagnosed with an infectious disease to identify and provide support to people who may have been infected (close contacts) through exposure to the person with COVID-19. This process prevents further transmission of disease by separating people who have (or may have) an infectious disease from people who do not.

• Close contact Close contact through proximity and duration of exposure: Someone who was less than 6 feet away from an infected person (laboratory-confirmed or a clinical diagnosis) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period (for example, three individual 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes). An infected person can spread SARS-CoV-2 starting 2 days before they have any symptoms (or, for asymptomatic people, 2 days before the positive specimen collection date).

• Contact elicitation window The timeframe when the case was likely infectious and not under isolation. This is the time period for which possible contacts should be elicited.

• Exposure Having come into contact with a cause of, or possessing a characteristic that is a determinant of, a particular health problem. Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice.

• First-responder Law enforcement, fire services, emergency medical services, and emergency management officials. EMS Guidance.

• Healthcare personnel All paid and unpaid people serving in healthcare settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to people with COVID-19 or infectious materials, including body substances; contaminated medical supplies, devices, and equipment; contaminated environmental surfaces; or contaminated air. Potential Exposure at Work.

• Incubation period Period of time between exposure to an infection and onset of symptoms

• Isolation The separation of a person or group of people known or reasonably believed to be infected with a communicable disease and potentially infectious from those who are not infected to prevent spread of the communicable disease. Isolation for public health purposes may be voluntary or compelled by federal, state, or local public health order.

• Multigenerational household Households that consist of more than two generations living under the same roofexternal icon. Many researchers also include households with a grandparent and at least one other generation.

• Probable COVID-19 case Report of person meeting clinical AND epidemiologic evidence of COVID-19 but without confirmatory laboratory evidence. More about Probable COVID-19 Case pdf icon[252 KB, 10 Pages]external icon.

• Quarantine The separation of a person or group of people reasonably believed to have been exposed to a communicable disease but not yet symptomatic from others who have not been so exposed to prevent the possible spread of the communicable disease. Quarantine may be voluntary or compelled by federal, state, or local public health order..

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