Control+F, or Command+F on a Mac, is the keyboard shortcut for the Find command. Please use this to quickly search for key words in this document.
Antibody: Also known as an immunoglobulin, an antibody is a large protein secreted by B cells—mostly plasma cells. Our immune systems use antibodies to neutralize pathogens (including viruses).
Acceptable Face Covering: Acceptable face coverings for COVID-19 include, but are not limited to, cloth-based face coverings and disposable masks appropriate for exercise that cover both the mouth and nose. Bandanas, buffs, and gaiters are not acceptable face coverings for dancers’ use in studios, theaters, and performing arts centers. The CDC defines wearing an appropriate face covering/mask as
- Wear masks with two or more layers to stop the spread of COVID-19.
- Wear the mask over your nose and mouth and secure it under your chin
- Masks should be worn by people two years and older
- Masks should NOT be worn by children younger than two, people who have trouble breathing, or people who cannot remove the mask without assistance
- Do NOT wear masks intended for healthcare workers, for example, N95 respirators
- CDC does not recommend the use of gaiters or face shields. Evaluation of these face covers is on-going but effectiveness is unknown at this time.
- The CDC offers additional ways you can improve how your mask protects you.
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE): an American professional association seeking to advance heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration systems design and construction. Their members are concerned with the design and construction of HVAC&R systems in buildings. ASHRAE also publishes a set of standards and guidelines relating to HVAC systems and issues.
Asymptomatic: Not showing any symptoms (signs of disease or illness). Some people without any symptoms still have and can spread the coronavirus. They’re asymptomatic, but contagious. Fever, cough, and shortness of breath are the main symptoms of COVID-19. Call your healthcare provider or a UVA clinic if you have any of the symptoms.
Bubble: A COVID-19 bubble is a group of select individuals who you can interact with mask-free due to established rules (eg. living together, no interaction with anyone outside of your bubble, etc.), medical protocols, tests and vigilance. A presiding authority is required to decide what the rules, protocols, and vigilance measures should be for your bubble. See also: Cohort, Pod.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC): The United States’ federal health protection organization.
Close contact: A person who may be at risk of a contagious disease because of their proximity or exposure to a known case. Exact definition of close contact differs by disease; for COVID-19, the CDC defines a close contact as anyone who has been within 6 feet of a person infected with the virus for a prolonged period of time, or has had direct contact with the infected person’s secretions. (Source: CDC)
Cohort: A cohort is a group of select individuals within a larger group of individuals who are kept together to engage in their activity through scheduling measures that promote consistent separation of one cohort from another and therefore control interaction. Cohort models work well within large facilities (eg. studios, theaters, and/or performing arts centers) frequented by the public, at universities and educational institutions managing student bodies, etc. See also: Bubble, Pod.
Communicable: Similar in meaning as “contagious.” Used to describe diseases that can be spread or transmitted from one person to another.
Community spread: The spread of an illness within a particular location, like a neighborhood or town. During community spread, there’s no clear source of contact or infection.
Confirmed case: Someone tested and confirmed to have COVID-19.
Congregate settings: Public places that can get crowded and where contact with infected people can happen. This includes places like malls, theaters, and grocery stores.
Contact Tracing: Contact tracing is the process of contacting all people who’ve had contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Contact Tracers have been hired and trained to work with state-of-the-art software to gather information on the infection’s spread. Your participation is confidential.
Coronavirus: A family of related viruses. Many of them cause respiratory illnesses. Coronaviruses cause COVID-19, SARS, MERS, and some strains of influenza, or flu. The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is officially called SARS-CoV-2, which stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
COVID-19: The name of the illness caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 stands for “coronavirus disease 2019.”
Dancers: In our material, “Dancers” refers to all people involved in the Dance workforce. This term includes dancers and dance workers, dance teachers, choreographers, dance company managers, office-based dance workers, dance studio managers, dance presenters, dance studio visitors/renters, performance venue visitors/renters, and any other persons involved with the dance workforce.
Department for Environmental Conservation (DEC): A New York State department which guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protection of New York’s natural resources.
Droplet transmission/spread: A mode of transmission for a contagious disease that involves relatively large, short-range (less than 6 feet) respiratory droplets produced by sneezing, coughing, or talking. (Source: CDC)
Equipment: Any frequently touched item or surface that the performer(s) comes in contact with. This can be barres, music stands, props, etc.
Epidemic: A situation where more cases of disease than expected happen in a given area or to a group of people.
Epidemiology: The branch of medicine that studies how diseases happen and spread in communities of people. A person who studies epidemiology is called an epidemiologist.
Flattening the curve: Controlling the rate of new cases of COVID-19. The “curve” refers to a graph showing the number of cases of COVID-19 that happen over a period of time. Many cases happening in a short period of time create a graph that looks like a tall spike. By using protective measures, we can slow down how many new cases happen, and “flatten” the curve.
HEPA filter: A High Efficiency Particulate Air filter. HEPA is an efficiency standard of air filters. Common standards require that a HEPA air filter must remove—from the air that passes through—at least 99.95% (European Standard) or 99.97% (ASME, U.S. DOE) of particles.
Home isolation: Persons with COVID-19 who have symptoms or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who have been directed to stay at home until they are recovered–a minimum of 10 days.
HVAC system: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system.
Isolation: Separating sick people with a contagious disease from those who are not sick.
Immunity: Your body’s ability to resist or fight off an infection. Your immune system is a network of cells throughout your body that help you avoid getting infected and help you get better when you are infected.
Immunocompromised: Also called immune-compromised or immunodeficient. This describes someone who has an immune system that can’t resist or fight off infections as well as most people. This can be caused by several illnesses. Some treatments for illnesses can also cause someone to be immunocompromised.
Incubation period: The time it takes for someone with an infection to start showing symptoms. For COVID-19, symptoms appear 2-14 days after infection.
Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV): a measurement scale designed in 1987 by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) to report the effectiveness of air filters. The MERV value is from 1 to 16. Higher MERV values correspond to a greater percentage of particles captured on each pass, with a MERV 16 filter capturing more than 95% of particles over the full range. MERV 13 is the minimum required filter for facilities with central air handling systems.
Outbreak: A sudden increase of a specific illness in a small area.
Pandemic: When a new disease spreads to many countries around the world.
PPE: PPE Stands for personal protective equipment. This includes masks, face shields, gloves, gowns and other coverings that healthcare workers use to prevent the spread of infection to themselves and other patients.
Person under investigation (PUI): When a health provider suspects a person has the coronavirus. But, no test has confirmed the infection.
Pod: A pod is a group of select individuals who you interact with on a regular basis, typically with masks and social distancing. It’s recommended that a pod collectively establish rules (testing requirements, no interaction with anyone outside of your pod, etc.) in order to be effective and promote safety. See also: Bubble, Cohort.
Physical Barriers: Includes plastic shielding walls, strip curtains, cubicle walls, plexiglass or similar materials, or other impermeable dividers or partitions. Physical barriers should be put in place in accordance with OSHA guidelines.
Presumptive positive case: When a person tests positive for the coronavirus, but the CDC hasn’t confirmed the case.
Quarantine: Separating and restricting the movement of people exposed or potentially exposed to a contagious disease. Quarantines keep people away from each other to prevent the spread of disease. Stay-at-home orders are a type of quarantine. Governments sometimes order quarantines to keep healthy people from exposure to infected people. They give rules to behavior and boundaries to movement.
SARS-CoV-2: The virus that causes COVID-19 is called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2 for short. (Just as HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.)
Screening:This is not the same as a coronavirus test. This step helps healthcare workers to decide if you actually need a coronavirus test. It’s a series of basic questions about your health condition and recent history. Screening may also include other common healthcare procedures, like taking your temperature.
Self-isolation: Also called self-quarantine. Separating yourself when you’re sick from healthy individuals to prevent spreading illness.
Shelter in place: An order for people to stay where they are and not leave for their own protection. A stay-at-home order is a kind of shelter-in-place order.
Social distancing: Also called physical distancing. It means putting space between yourself and other people at all times. The goal is to slow down how fast an infection spreads. Stay-at-home orders are a way that the government can enforce social distancing. The CDC recommends keeping at least six feet between you and others around you in public. Social distancing also includes avoiding crowds and groups in public.
Symptomatic: When a person shows signs of illness. For COVID-19, that includes cough, fever or shortness of breath.
Temperature Check: A temperature check is when you have your temperature taken with a thermometer. This is a form of screening for COVID-19. Screening includes temperature checks, nose swabs, and questionnaires.
Testing: Two kinds of tests are available for COVID-19: viral tests and antibody tests. A viral test tells you if you have a current infection. An antibody test might tell you if you had a past infection.
Test Site: The location in which testing (viral tests and antibody tests) for the coronavirus is administered. You can visit your state or local health department’s website to find the latest local information on testing.
Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI): a disinfection method that uses short-wavelength ultraviolet light to kill or inactivate microorganisms by causing DNA damage, leaving them unable to reproduce.
Ventilator: A machine that supplies oxygen to a patient with severe lung issues. People with severe cases of COVID-19 can’t provide enough oxygen to their body. Their lungs are too limited. A ventilator machine requires a specialist or respiratory therapist. It is more invasive than an oxygen mask. Many hospitals don’t have a supply of ventilators big enough for the COVID-19 outbreak.
World Health Organization (WHO): This United Nations organization monitors and protects public health around the world.
Zoonotic: This means that a disease was originally detected in animals, but is now infecting people also.