Prevención – Review – Spanish for COVID19

In today's lesson, we practice Spanish for talking with our patients and the community about the symptoms of COVID19 and how to prevent the spread of the virus. This lesson is based on the Q & A: Spanish for COVID19 – Prevención y cuarentena

I strongly recommend that you review the lessons from our series on the flu because we can use many of the same vocabulary and phrases when talking about COVID19.  In today's lesson, I will try to focus on words and phrases that are not covered in our prior lessons on the flu.

LEVEL - UPPER INTERMEDIATE

Los síntomas de COVID19

1:28

COVID19

el coronavirus
coronavirus

un resfriado leve
a mild cold

una enfermedad grave
a severe illness

el neumonía, la pulmonía
pneumonia

Los síntomas pueden ser de un resfriado leve a una enfermedad grave con neumonía.
Symptoms can range from a mild cold to severe illness with pneumonia.

la fiebre
fever

la tos seca
dry cough

el cansancio
fatigue

los dolores musculares
muscle aches

Los síntomas respiratorios

2:54

la dificultad para respirar
trouble breathing

los síntomas respiratorios
respiratory symptoms

la insuficiencia respiratoria
respiratory failure

¿Tiene dificultad para respirar?
Are you having trouble breathing?

la falta de aire
shortness of breath

¿Le falta el aire/la respiración/el aliento?
Are you short of breath?

Después del contagio al virus

3:53

contraer/contagiar se del virus
to catch (become infected with) the virus

el contagio al virus
infection with the virus

Los síntomas se presentan entre los primeros 2 a 14 días después del contagio al virus.
Symptoms appear in the first 2 to 14 days after infection with the virus.

Cómo prevenir el contagio del virus

4:58

propagarse
to spread

El virus se propaga de persona a persona.
The virus spreads from person to person.

las gotitas respiratorias
respiratory droplets

El virus está dentro de las gotitas respiratorias que una persona produce al toser o al estornudar.
The virus is inside the respiratory droplets that a person produces when coughing or sneezing.

Estas gotitas pueden llegar a la boca o la nariz de otra persona al respirar o al tocarse la cara.
These droplets can get into another person’s mouth or nose when they breathe or touch their face.

Para no contagiarse del virus, le recomiendo lo siguiente.
In order not to catch the virus, I recommend the following.

Para no contagiar a los demás, le recomiendo lo siguiente.
In order not to infect others, I recommend the following.

Evite contacto cercano con las otras personas.
Avoid close contact with other people.

Mantenga una distancia de 6 pies (o 2 metros) entre usted y las otras personas.
Keep a distance of 6 feet (or 2 meters) between you and other people.

Lavarse las manos

7:20

Lávese las manos con agua y jabón por al menos 20 segundos.
Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

sonarse la nariz
to blow your nose

después de estar en un lugar público o después de sonarse la nariz o estornudar.
after being in a public place or after blowing your nose or sneezing.

las manos sin lavar
unwashed hands

Evite tocarse los ojos, la nariz y la boca con las manos sin lavar.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

el pañuelo desechable
tissue

la parte interna del codo
the inside of your elbow

Tápese la boca al toser y (al) estornudar con un pañuelo desechable o use la parte interna del codo.
Cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze with a tissue or use the inside of your elbow. 

el desinfectante de manos
hand sanitizer

Límpiese las manos con un desinfectante de manos que contenga al menos 60% de alcohol.
Clean your hands with a hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol.

OJO: Learn to use the subjunctive to describe unspecified nouns: Quiz # 3 – The Subjunctive in Adjective Clauses (Spanish Grammar members: Subj07 Unspecified Nouns)

Distanciamiento social

9:45

Es muy importante no propagar el virus a otras personas.
It is very important not to spread the virus to other people.

Puede propagar este virus antes de tener (de que tenga) síntomas y después de sentirse (de que se sienta) mejor.
You can spread this virus before you have symptoms and after you feel better.

OJO: Learn when to use the subjunctive in adverbial clauses of time. Quiz # 4 – The Subjunctive in Adverbial Clauses (Spanish Grammar members: Subj12 Time Clauses)

Por eso, estamos pidiendo que todos pongan de su parte para distanciarse socialmente.
That is why we are asking everyone to do their part to socially distance.

OJO: Learn to use the subjunctive following verbs of influence. Quiz #2 – The Subjunctive in Noun Clauses (Spanish Grammer members: Subj04 Subjunctive Following Verbs of Influence)

poner de su parte
to do one’s part

distanciarse socialmente
to distance oneself socially

el  distanciamiento social
social distancing

La población más vulnerable

12:48

la población más vulnerable
the most vulnerable people (part of our population)

Es muy importante no propagar el virus a la población más vulnerable.
It is very important not to spread the virus to the most vulnerable part of our population.

los adultos mayores
the elderly

las personas con afecciones crónicas
people with chronic conditions

Necesitamos proteger a los adultos mayores y las personas con afecciones crónicas.
We need to protect the elderly and people with chronic conditions.

las personas con un sistema inmunológico débil.
persons with a weak immune system

Si se enferma

14:01

Si usted es parte de esta población, debería consultar a su doctor de cabecera o a su proveedor de atención médica.
If you are part of this population, you should consult your family doctor or health care provider.

u otro professional de la salud
or other healthcare professional

sin afecciones médicas graves
without serious medical conditions 

Si usted es una persona sin afecciones médicas graves y puede quedarse en casa,
If you are a person without serious medical conditions and can stay at home,

Es muy importante que haga exactamente eso: quedarse en casa.
It’s very important that you do exactly that: stay home.

OJO: Learn when to use the subjunctive following impersonal expressions: Quiz #2 – The Subjunctive in Noun Clauses  (Spanish Grammar members: Subj05 Influence Emotion and Judgments)

Quédese en casa para proteger a los demás.
Stay home to protect others.

I’ll be in the hospital for the next couple of days, so I’ll publish a vocabulary and phrase review for the second half of the Q&A on COVID19 where we discuss home quarantine, la cuarentena en casa.

Related Lessons


Special thanks to Elizabeth Cortéz, my Spanish teacher at the San Pedro Spanish School in Guatemala who provided most of the Spanish for this lesson.  


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