What does "stretching response teams" mean?

Forums: English, Esl, Grammar
Email this Topic • Print this Page

What does "stretching response teams" mean?

Context:

So why is the outbreak continuing in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia?
In principle, it should be straightforward to bring an Ebola outbreak under control via public health measures alone, namely, identifying all people who have been infected and isolating them, monitoring all those that they have been in contact with for 21 days (the maximum incubation period), as well as promoting basic infection control measures. What's more, since people infected with Ebola do not infect others until they have symptoms, it is easier to trace their contacts than it is for some other diseases. Ebola is out of control in these countries because the sheer size of the outbreak is stretching response teams, and also because of local sociocultural factors.
More:
http://www.nature.com/news/largest-ever-ebola-outbreak-is-not-a-global-threat-1.15640

Topic Stats
Top Replies
Link to this Topic

Type: Question • Score: 2 • Views: 554 • Replies: 8

No top replies

View best answer, chosen by oristarA

@oristarA,

Ori, used here it means to encumber, burden or debilitate through dispersal

http://onelook.com/?w=stretch&ls=a

1 Reply

@dalehileman,

dalehileman wrote:

Ori, used here it means to encumber, burden or debilitate through dispersal

http://onelook.com/?w=stretch&ls=a

So "the sheer size of the outbreak is stretching response teams" means "the large scale of the outbreak is burdening/debilitating response teams/emergency medical teams"?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

Yes Ori, I'd say so, yes. Others better versed might participate

0 Replies

When a person, team or organisation is stretched, it means that their workload, or the novelty/size/complexity etc of their task is making them work harder than usual. They are extended.

Crime has increased suddenly so the police are stretched.
An outbreak of infectious disease is stretching hospital staff.

2 Replies

@contrex,

Quote:

They are extended

Yea Con, well put

0 Replies

@contrex,

contrex wrote:

When a person, team or organisation is stretched, it means that their workload, or the novelty/size/complexity etc of their task is making them work harder than usual. They are extended.

Crime has increased suddenly so the police are stretched.
An outbreak of infectious disease is stretching hospital staff.

Working harder should have effectively curbed the spreading the outbreak... but that article says the outbreak continuing - and one of the exact causes of the continuing is stretching response teams.
So is it possible that the stretching not only means them working hard, but also that they are overloaded as to have made the efficiency of their work lower or less effective?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

You can't make that assumption. We only know that the response teams are overworked and have too many cases for their staff to handle.

1 Reply

@PUNKEY,

Thank you Punkey.

0 Replies

What does "stretching response teams" mean?

Related Topics

Quick Links

My Account

able2know