Abstract
The paper addresses the underlying complexities and phenomena arising in response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, and pertaining to interpreting. The pandemic-related neologisms are introduced, followed by practical guidelines for medical interpreters and the assessment of the problems and challenges encountered in the current mode of work, including (remote) community interpreting. The impact of the pandemic on medical interpreters is also discussed with the associated problems which are also related to the wellbeing of the interpreters themselves at the time of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. To fully comprehend the real value of services provided by medical interpreters, it is necessary to assess the health outcomes and the quality of life of patients in longitudinal studies conducted on large cohorts of patients, with particular attention to at least several months of follow-up.
Highlights
In November 2019, the city of Wuhan, China, caught the attention of the world due to an increasing number of infections and subsequent deaths related to a novel coronavirus medically termed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which spread at such a rapid rate that it resulted in a global paralysis of the healthcare system
As reported by Kenyon (2020), Yong (2020), Furukawa et al (2020), other terms have been coined by the World Health Organization (WHO), whereas other neologisms have been proposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — (1) medical terms with a new sense, (2) entirely new headword entries, and (3) new sub-entries
Bearing in mind the above, different procedures related to interpreting services come into play, let alone the COVID-19-related neologisms
Summary
In November 2019, the city of Wuhan, China, caught the attention of the world due to an increasing number of infections and subsequent deaths related to a novel coronavirus medically termed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which spread at such a rapid rate that it resulted in a global paralysis of the healthcare system. SARS-CoV-2 infections have been confirmed in 224 countries and territories Such a sudden outbreak of the pandemic of this magnitude that has already taken the lives of over 1,520,000 individuals and affected almost 66 million people worldwide has rarely been observed (data as of 30th Nov 2020; according to public WHO announcements). Uncertainty related to the future and associated mortality rates, and grief over those who passed away have led to clinically significant psychological signs and symptoms, including depression (Stein 2020), increased levels of fear (Lin 2020), anxiety (Wang and Zhao 2020), hopelessness (Shaw 2020), and adjustment disorders (Zhang et al 2020) Against this background, prolonged exposure to a completely unknown phenomenon requires rapid response from many different organizations and individuals. Since the COVID-19 pandemic occurred within a short period of time, the term COVID-19 has become the synonym for the transfer of pandemic-related information and research in professional medical literature published in English and other languages, thereby resulting in the dissemination of information worldwide to both experts and non-experts, which is done mostly by translators and interpreters
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