COVID-19 is the infectious disease pandemic caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus that has affected many countries globally. Coronaviruses are a large family of RNA viruses that have been shown to cause illness in humans and animals (e.g., camels, bats, and cats).
Several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections in humans. These infections range from the common cold, generally mild upper-respiratory-tract symptoms, to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).
SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the novel coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19. COVID-19 is an abbreviation for “Coronavirus Disease 2019.”
