Questions and answers about coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
WHO is continuously monitoring and responding to this outbreak. These questions and answers will be updated as more data becomes known about COVID-19 , its mode of spread, and how it is affecting people around the world. For more information, regularly consult the WHO pages on coronavirus. https://www.who.int/en/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 What is a coronavirus? Coronaviruses are an extensive family of viruses that can cause disease in both animals and humans. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections that can range from the common cold to more serious illnesses such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The most recently discovered is COVID-19. What is COVID-19? COVID-19 is the most recently discovered infectious disease caused by coronavirus. Both this new virus and the disease it causes were unknown before the outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. COVID-19 is cur...