Podcast #12 News Review - March 8 to 14, 2020

This week's news:

• Coronavirus: the epidemic becomes a pandemic [spp-timestamp time=”00:00:42″]
• Italy, first country to place its entire population under quarantine [spp-timestamp time=”00:01:18″]
• Clashes in Italian prisons [spp-timestamp time=”00:02:26″]
• Coronavirus: an update on the situation in Europe [spp-timestamp time=”00:02:52″]
• Trump bans Europeans from entering the United States [spp-timestamp time=”00:03:59″]
• Vocabulary of the week explained [spp-timestamp time=”00:04:34″]

Transcription

Hello,

Welcome to the HelloFrench news review, the podcast that immerses you in the week's news to help you improve your French.

Headlines for the week of March 8 to 14, 2020:

• The coronavirus epidemic becomes a pandemic.
• Italy, first country to place its entire population under quarantine.
• Clashes in Italian prisons: 7 prisoners lost their lives and dozens escaped.
• Still on the coronavirus, the situation in Europe.
• In the United States, Trump bans Europeans from entering the country.

It's official, the [tooltips keyword=”épidémie” content=”epidemic”] of coronavirus has become a [tooltips keyword=”pandémie” content=”pandemic”]. The virus is now a global [tooltips keyword=”sanitaire” content=”sanitary”] health issue. To date, more than 150,000 people have been [tooltips keyword=”contaminées” content=”contaminated”] in 137 countries. The virus has killed nearly 5,800 people worldwide. Outside of China, the most affected country is Italy with 1,441 deaths, followed by Iran with 611 deaths, Spain with 183 deaths, and France with 91 deaths.

An update on the situation in Italy. The health crisis caused by the coronavirus only worsened this week. On Sunday, March 8, the government had initially decided to place only certain northern regions under quarantine, including Milan and Venice. Other measures had also been taken to try to [tooltips keyword=”ralentir” content=”to slow down”] the spread of infections, such as closing museums, theaters, cinemas, schools, and libraries across the entire Italian territory. A little over 24 hours later, a new decision was announced: all 60 million Italians are now [tooltips keyword=”mis en quarantaine” content=”quarantined”] until April 3. Italians can only travel to go to work, go to the pharmacy, or buy food. No other [tooltips keyword=”déplacement” content=”displacement”] is authorized, under penalty of a 206 euro fine and 3 months in prison. The streets are now deserted in Italy, and the Vatican has just announced that the [tooltips keyword=”Pape” content=”pope”] will celebrate Easter without any [tooltips keyword=”fidèle” content=”worshipper”]. A first.

In this context of the coronavirus epidemic, [tooltips keyword=”mutineries” content=”rebellion”] broke out in 27 Italian [tooltips keyword=”prisons” content=”jail”]. These riots began after the decision to suspend family visits, to prevent the virus from entering the prisons. These mutinies caused the death of at least ten [tooltips keyword=”détenus” content=”inmate”] and dozens [tooltips keyword=”évadés” content=”escape”] escaped, including 50 from the Foggia prison. While some were recaptured, other prisoners are still [tooltips keyword=”en cavale” content=”on the run”].

Elsewhere in Europe, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia closed their borders to nearly all [tooltips keyword=”étrangers” content=”foreigners“]. Spain, the second most affected country in Europe, announced on Saturday a near-total quarantine of the country. Spaniards too can now only go out to buy food, work, or go to the pharmacy. France is also slowly heading down the same path. At the beginning of the week, gatherings of 1,000 people had been banned, before being reduced to those of more than 100 people. The government then decided to close daycare centers, schools, and universities. The president, in a speech on Thursday evening, encouraged those who could to work from home ([tooltips keyword=”télétravail” content=”remote“]) to avoid travel. A more [tooltips keyword=”radicale” content=”radical solution“] decision finally came on Saturday evening: at midnight, bars, restaurants, and theaters [tooltips keyword=”ferment leurs portes” content=”close“] [tooltips keyword=”jusqu'à nouvel ordre” content=”until further notice“]. Only supermarkets, pharmacies, and tobacco shops can now remain open. The first round of the municipal elections on Sunday was, however, maintained.

In the United States, Donald Trump decided to [tooltips keyword=”fermer ses frontières” content=”to close its border“] to Europeans. The president suspended all flights between Europe and the United States for a period of 30 days. Only Americans staying in Europe and British citizens are not affected by the measure. Some travelers therefore [tooltips keyword=”précipités” content=”to rush“] rushed to catch a plane before the ban took effect on Saturday at 5 a.m.

Vocabulary of the week

Expand your French vocabulary - download our list of key words from the week of March 8 to 14, 2020.

■ L'épidémie (epidemic): a contagious disease that can be caught and spreads among the population, generally in a specific region.

■ La pandémie (pandemic): an epidemic that affects a very large number of people. The disease has started to spread around the world.

■ Le virus (virus): a disease that spreads and diffuses.

■ Sanitaire (adjective - sanitary/health-related): related to people's health, to human health.

■ Contaminer/Être contaminé (to contaminate/to be contaminated): to transmit a disease to someone, to have caught a disease.

■ La contamination (contamination): the fact of having caught a disease.

■ Mise en quarantaine (quarantine): separating certain people from others, preventing them from going to other places. Generally, it is to prevent a disease from spreading.

■ Ralentir (verb - to slow down): to make slower, to make things go less fast.

■ Le déplacement (movement/travel): going from one place to another, moving around.

■ Déserte (adjective - deserted): without anyone, empty.

■ Célébrer (to celebrate): to celebrate an event, a date, an anniversary.

■ Le Pape (the Pope): the leader of Catholics. He governs the state of the Vatican.

■ Le fidèle (worshipper/believer): a person who believes in a religion, who practices a religion, who believes in God.

■ La mutinerie (mutiny): a riot, a revolt, a rebellion.

■ La prison (prison): an establishment where people who have been found guilty are confined.

■ Le détenu (inmate): a prisoner, someone who is in prison, a person in detention.

■ S'évader (to escape): to flee, to leave, to break free.

■ Être en cavale (to be on the run): to flee, to escape from prison.

■ Fermer ses frontières (to close one's borders): to prevent certain nationalities or all other nationalities from entering a country.

■ L'étranger (foreigner): someone who is not of our nationality, a person who comes from a different country than ours.

■ Le télétravail (remote work): working remotely instead of being at one's company. Working from home occasionally instead of going to the office.

■ Radical (adjective - radical): harsher than normal, more effective.

■ Fermer ses portes (to close its doors): to permanently or for a long period stop a business's activity.

■ Jusqu'à nouvel ordre (until further notice): until there is a new decision, until the person in authority gives us a new indication.

■ Suspendre (verb - to suspend): to stop, to interrupt for some time.

■ Se précipiter (verb - to rush): to hurry to do something or go somewhere, to act quickly.