Sam emoji for you.
To frame this correctly in the context of Covid-19, it’s important to understand the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic.
Epi comes from the Greek for “ in addition to”, “I pon” or “ near to” so epidemic is simply something which is widespread generally an occurrence which is usually a disease at the same time.
Whereas a pandemic
The term pan- (as a prefix) and the name Pan (the Greek deity) have distinct etymological roots that have intersected throughout history, representing concepts of “all,” “universality,” and “nature” worldwide.
Pan- is a prefix meaning “all” or “every.” Whereas “pan “ comes from Ancient Greek pan (from pâs, “all”), rooted in the Proto-Indo-European pant-. Today it’s used to describe universal scope or total inclusion, as in Pan-American, pandemic, or panacea.
Pan feels timely again: once linked to Covid, but now shifting beyond medicine to describe a wider cultural reality, where loneliness itself has become pandemic in scale.