As coronavirus continues to dominate headlines around the world, here is a glossary of common words and terms that have become part of life as we know it.

From “self-isolation” to “quarantini”, you may have heard all of these in some way, shape or form in recent weeks.

– Coronaviruses: A group of viruses that causes a variety of illnesses, including the common cold and more serious respiratory conditions.

– Covid-19: The name of the respiratory illness caused by the latest type of coronavirus. This particular type was identified in Wuhan City, China, in January 2020.

– Self-isolation: The act of remaining in your own home and avoiding contact with other people as much as possible to reduce the spread of the virus.

– Social distancing: Action taken to mitigate the spread of the disease by reducing people’s contact with each other. Examples include closing schools, encouraging staff to work from home and reducing the number of large-scale public gatherings.

– Covidiot: The Urban Dictionary has coined the term “covidiot” to describe those who go against public health advice amid the coronavirus outbreak.

– Pandemic: A worldwide spread of a new disease.

– Epidemic: The increase in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in a population in a geographical area.

– Containment phase: Steps introduced to prevent the virus from spreading across the UK for as long as possible, such as detecting early cases and trying to establish who the infected person has been in contact with.

– Delay phase: Measures introduced to reduce the peak impact of the virus and slow its spread, such restrictions on public gatherings.

– Mitigation phase: Providing hospitals with the support they need to maintain essential services as the virus spreads, and help those who are ill in the community to reduce the overall impact of the disease on society.

– R0 value: The rate of infection. If that value is less than one in the community, it means infected people are passing the disease on to fewer than one other person on average.

– Cobra meetings: A Cobra meeting is one which takes place in one of a series of Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms, and also acts as shorthand for the Civil Contingencies Committee which meets to discuss a response to a crisis issue, for instance terrorism, flooding or a pandemic.

– Shielding: According to the Government website, shielding is when “you’re strongly advised to stay at home at all times and avoid any face-to-face contact if you’re clinically extremely vulnerable to protect yourself”.

– Sage: Stands for the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies – it provides scientific and technical advice to support government decision makers during emergencies.

– PPE: Personal protective equipment which protects the user against health and safety hazards.

– Prone position: Some patients in intensive care with coronavirus are put into a prone position for the majority of the day to release pressure on their lungs.

– WFH: WFH stands for working from home, which has become the new normal for people all over the world.

– Upperwear: Respectable clothes worn from the waist up to look professional on a video call with colleagues or employers.

– Zoom/Houseparty: Zoom is a video communications tool while Houseparty is a social networking app that allows a number of people to video chat.

– Quarantini: A cocktail or alcoholic drink consumed at home during the coronavirus lockdown.