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The COVID-19 portal

SARS-CoV-2 as seen by a cryo-electron tomography scan.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease has since spread worldwide, leading to an ongoing pandemic.

Several COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and distributed in various countries, which have initiated mass vaccination campaigns. Other preventive measures include physical or social distancing, quarantining, ventilation of indoor spaces, covering coughs and sneezes, hand washing, and keeping unwashed hands away from the face. The use of face masks or coverings has been recommended in public settings to minimize the risk of transmissions. While work is underway to develop drugs that inhibit the virus, the primary treatment is symptomatic. Management involves the treatment of symptoms, supportive care, isolation, and experimental measures. (Full article...)

About the virus

This colorized transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—isolated from a patient in the U.S.

SARS‑CoV‑2 belongs to the broad family of viruses known as coronaviruses. It is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA) virus, with a single linear RNA segment. Coronaviruses infect humans, other mammals, including livestock and companion animals, and avian species. Human coronaviruses are capable of causing illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS, fatality rate ~34%). SARS-CoV-2 is the seventh known coronavirus to infect people, after 229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1, MERS-CoV, and the original SARS-CoV.

Like the SARS-related coronavirus implicated in the 2003 SARS outbreak, SARS‑CoV‑2 is a member of the subgenus Sarbecovirus (beta-CoV lineage B). Coronaviruses undergo frequent recombination. The mechanism of recombination in unsegmented RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 is generally by copy-choice replication, in which gene material switches from one RNA template molecule to another during replication. SARS-CoV-2 RNA sequence is approximately 30,000 bases in length, relatively long for a coronavirus (which in turn carry the largest genomes among all RNA families) Its genome consists nearly entirely of protein-coding sequences, a trait shared with other coronaviruses. (Full article...)

About the symptoms and spread

Symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Symptoms of COVID-19 are variable, ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Common symptoms include headache, loss of smell and taste, nasal congestion and runny nose, cough, muscle pain, sore throat, fever, diarrhea, and breathing difficulties. People with the same infection may have different symptoms, and their symptoms may change over time. Three common clusters of symptoms have been identified: one respiratory symptom cluster with cough, sputum, shortness of breath, and fever; a musculoskeletal symptom cluster with muscle and joint pain, headache, and fatigue; a cluster of digestive symptoms with abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. In people without prior ear, nose, and throat disorders, loss of taste combined with loss of smell is associated with COVID-19 and is reported in as many as 88% of cases

As is common with infections, there is a delay between the moment a person first becomes infected and the appearance of the first symptoms. The median delay for COVID-19 is four to five days. Most symptomatic people experience symptoms within two to seven days after exposure, and almost all will experience at least one symptom within 12 days. (Full article...)

The disease is mainly transmitted via the respiratory route when people inhale droplets and small airborne particles (that form an aerosol) that infected people exhale as they breathe, talk, cough, sneeze, or sing. Infected people are more likely to transmit COVID-19 when they are physically close. However, infection can occur over longer distances, particularly indoors. (Full article...)

Disease progress

Cases
256,072,650

Deaths
5,132,202

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COVID-19 pandemic by location

Location		Cases	Deaths
	World	256,072,650	5,132,202
	United States	47,531,319	768,695
	European Union	43,770,366	825,338
	India	34,489,623	465,082
	Brazil	21,989,962	612,144
	United Kingdom	9,772,670	143,999
	Russia	9,063,318	255,448
	Turkey	8,505,190	74,428
	France	7,453,941	119,333
	Iran	6,063,775	128,634
	Argentina	5,312,089	116,341
	Germany	5,271,961	98,751
	Spain	5,074,027	87,804
	Colombia	5,040,665	127,963
	Italy	4,893,887	133,034
	Indonesia	4,252,345	143,709
	Mexico	3,854,994	291,929
	Ukraine	3,440,602	84,393
	Poland	3,279,787	79,994
	South Africa	2,926,914	89,515
	Philippines	2,821,753	46,422
	Malaysia	2,569,533	29,892
	Netherlands	2,419,456	19,307
	Peru	2,219,617	200,767
	Iraq	2,072,478	23,607
	Thailand	2,044,125	20,254
	Czech Republic	1,944,400	31,769
	Canada	1,767,962	29,516
	Romania	1,755,179	54,343
	Chile	1,735,187	38,049
	Japan	1,725,458	18,338
	Bangladesh	1,573,458	27,939
	Belgium	1,559,998	26,526
	Israel	1,339,258	8,154
	Pakistan	1,281,240	28,648
	Serbia	1,225,242	11,062
	Sweden	1,187,607	15,109
	Portugal	1,115,080	18,295
	Vietnam	1,065,469	23,476
	Kazakhstan	1,043,456	17,601
	Slovakia	1,040,996	13,725
	Austria	1,011,465	11,903
	Hungary	987,199	32,645
	Cuba	959,869	8,289
	Morocco	948,633	14,755
	Switzerland	935,047	11,364
	Jordan	905,738	11,310
	Greece	861,117	17,075
	Nepal	818,307	11,489
	Georgia	800,293	11,289
	United Arab Emirates	741,214	2,144
	Tunisia	715,988	25,330
	Bulgaria	668,363	26,985
	Lebanon	656,192	8,616
	Belarus	634,731	4,901
	Guatemala	611,374	15,775
	Azerbaijan	568,089	7,551
	Costa Rica	565,347	7,248
	Croatia	558,270	10,113
	Sri Lanka	554,459	14,072
	Saudi Arabia	549,377	8,821
	Bolivia	527,380	19,049
	Ecuador	521,792	33,088
	Myanmar	516,146	18,989
	Republic of Ireland	515,691	5,609
	Panama	475,369	7,350
	Paraguay	462,146	16,349
	Palestine	457,729	4,767
	Lithuania	450,421	6,440
	Denmark	443,017	2,803
	Venezuela	422,229	5,049
	Kuwait	413,090	2,464
	South Korea	409,099	3,215
	Dominican Republic	399,773	4,182
	Uruguay	397,318	6,110
	Slovenia	391,677	5,001
	Honduras	377,293	10,372
	Mongolia	376,342	1,925
	Ethiopia	369,667	6,655
	Libya	366,789	5,346
	Moldova	356,448	8,709
	Egypt	347,719	19,780
	Armenia	331,914	7,183
	Oman	304,466	4,113
	Bahrain	277,304	1,393
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	267,851	12,180
	Kenya	254,541	5,325
	Singapore	244,815	619
	Latvia	244,561	3,901
	Qatar	241,672	611
	Norway	237,739	996
	Estonia	215,367	1,714
	Nigeria	213,464	2,973
	North Macedonia	210,938	7,390
	Zambia	210,036	3,666
	Algeria	208,532	6,009
	Australia	195,617	1,933
	Albania	195,021	3,022
	Botswana	194,445	2,416
	Uzbekistan	190,584	1,367
	Kyrgyzstan	182,667	2,715
	Finland	173,632	1,246
	Kosovo	160,985	2,980
	Afghanistan	156,739	7,297
	Montenegro	153,743	2,231
	Mozambique	151,472	1,936
	Zimbabwe	133,593	4,699
	Ghana	130,727	1,207
	Cyprus	129,158	589
	Namibia	129,074	3,567
	Uganda	127,073	3,247
	Cambodia	119,741	2,887
	El Salvador	118,041	3,741
	Cameroon	106,190	1,770
	Rwanda	100,190	1,339
	China	98,504	4,636
	Jamaica	90,467	2,343
	Maldives	90,340	248
	Luxembourg	85,660	862
	Senegal	73,962	1,883
	Angola	64,985	1,729
	Trinidad and Tobago	64,402	1,908
	Malawi	61,858	2,303
	Ivory Coast	61,553	702
	Laos	58,798	116
	Democratic Republic of the Congo	57,803	1,099
	Fiji	52,444	694
	Suriname	50,356	1,143
	Syria	46,838	2,689
	Eswatini	46,485	1,248
	Madagascar	43,672	964
	Sudan	41,558	3,099
	Malta	38,449	462
	Mauritania	38,440	812
	Cabo Verde	38,313	350
	Guyana	37,090	968
	Gabon	36,943	270
	Papua New Guinea	33,337	436
	Guinea	30,715	387
	Belize	29,501	558
	Tanzania	26,227	727
	Togo	26,185	243
	Benin	24,846	161
	Haiti	24,710	711
	Barbados	23,175	205
	Somalia	22,837	1,313
	Seychelles	22,833	125
	Bahamas	22,640	671
	Lesotho	21,719	661
	Burundi	20,321	38
	Timor-Leste	19,814	122
	Mauritius	18,979	240
	Republic of the Congo	18,539	331
	Tajikistan	17,489	125
	Nicaragua	17,023	211
	Mali	16,796	589
	Taiwan	16,506	848
	Iceland	16,243	34
	Andorra	16,035	130
	Burkina Faso	15,514	265
	Brunei	14,399	96
	Equatorial Guinea	13,519	169
	Djibouti	13,500	186
	Saint Lucia	12,872	272
	South Sudan	12,609	133
	Hong Kong	12,395	213
	Central African Republic	11,666	101
	Gambia	9,986	341
	Yemen	9,950	1,934
	New Zealand	9,653	38
	Eritrea	7,112	53
	Niger	6,773	237
	Guinea-Bissau	6,434	146
	Sierra Leone	6,400	121
	Grenada	5,865	200
	Liberia	5,818	287
	San Marino	5,734	92
	Dominica	5,550	35
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	5,359	73
	Chad	5,107	175
	Comoros	4,437	149
	Antigua and Barbuda	4,129	108
	Liechtenstein	4,041	61
	Sao Tome and Principe	3,731	56
	Monaco	3,536	36
	Saint Kitts and Nevis	2,764	28
	Bhutan	2,629	3
	Vatican City	27	0
	Solomon Islands	20	—
	Palau	8	0
	Vanuatu	6	1
	Marshall Islands	4	—
	Samoa	3	—
	Kiribati	2	—
	Tonga	1	—
	Federated States of Micronesia	1	0

(Full article...)

National responses

Due to the pandemic in Europe, many countries in the Schengen Area have restricted free movement and set up border controls. National reactions have included containment measures such as quarantines and curfews (known as stay-at-home orders, shelter-in-place orders, or lockdowns). The WHO's recommendation on curfews and lockdowns is that they should be short-term measures to reorganise, regroup, rebalance resources, and protect health workers who are exhausted. To achieve a balance between restrictions and normal life, the long-term responses to the pandemic should consist of strict personal hygiene, effective contact tracing, and isolating when ill.

(Full article...)

Videos

• Play media

  Animation describing the structure of a coronavirus

• Play media

  Video about what SARS-CoV-2 does to the human body

• Play media

  Video about the transmission of coronaviruses

(More videos...)

Recent news

19 November 2021 – COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic in Europe

COVID-19 pandemic in Austria

Austrian chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announces a full nationwide lockdown for the entire population starting on 22 November, amid a surge in new COVID-19 cases that has overwhelmed hospitals. Schallenberg also announces that COVID-19 vaccinations will become mandatory as of 1 February, 2022. (The Independent)

Austria reports a record for the second consecutive day of 15,809 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,027,274. (Kronen Zeitung)

COVID-19 pandemic in Germany

The Southern German state of Bavaria cancels all Christmas markets and imposes a lockdown in all districts that have a seven-day incidence rate of over 1,000 per 100,000 people amid a substantial increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases. However, schools and kindergartens will continue to remain open. (Deutsche Welle)

Did you know?

• ... that "Catch It, Bin It, Kill It" (poster shown), a slogan first used in 2007, has been revived to fight the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom?
• ... that professor Neil Ferguson and his team believe that significantly more people in China have been infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus than has been reported?
• ... that Charli XCX, while under self-isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic, is collaborating with her fans to record her album How I'm Feeling Now?
• ... that Corona, named after Corona, is fighting corona?
• ... that Karan Johar launched the pop song "Genda Phool" on social media during India's coronavirus lockdown?
• ... that the Association of Black Cardiologists has shared resources on the impact of coronavirus disease on black communities in response to the higher death rates seen among African Americans?
  (More did you know facts...)

Data maps

Cases and deaths

• 

  Total confirmed cases by reporting area

    3,000 + per 100,000 inhabitants

    1,000–3,00 per 100,000 inhabitants

    300–1,000 per 100,000 inhabitants

    100–300 per 100,000 inhabitants

    30–100 per 100,000 inhabitants

    0–30 per 100,000 inhabitants

    None or no data
• 

  Total confirmed deaths by country

    100+ per 100,000 inhabitants

    18–100 per 100,000 inhabitants

    3.3–18 per 100,000 inhabitants

    0.6–3.3 per 100,000 inhabitants

    0.1–0.6 per 100,000 inhabitants

    <0.1 per 100,000 inhabitants

    None or no data

(More statistics...)

Economic impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching economic consequences beyond the spread of the disease itself and efforts to quarantine it. As the SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread around the globe, concerns have shifted from supply-side manufacturing issues to decreased business in the services sector. The pandemic caused the 2nd largest global recession in history, with more than a third of the global population at the time being placed on lockdown.

Global stock markets fell on 24 February 2020 due to a significant rise in the number of COVID-19 cases outside mainland China. By 28 February 2020, stock markets worldwide realized their largest single-week declines since the financial crisis of 2007–2008. This culminated in the 2020 stock market crash. (Full article...)

Workplace

The hierarchy of hazard controls contains methods for controlling exposures to hazards. Methods listed towards the top potentially more effective than those at the bottom at reducing the risk of illness or injury.

Hazard controls for COVID-19 in workplaces are the application of occupational safety and health methodologies for hazard controls to the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Vaccination is the most effective way to protect against severe illness or death from COVID-19. Multiple layers of controls are recommended, including measures such as telework and flexible schedules, increased ventilation, personal protective equipment (PPE) and face coverings, physical distancing, and enhanced cleaning programs. (Full article...)

Misinformation

COVID-19 misinformation refers to any kind of subject about the COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in misinformation and conspiracy theories about the scale of the pandemic and the origin, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease. False information, including intentional disinformation, has been spread through social media, text messaging, and mass media. False information has been propagated by celebrities, politicians, and other prominent public figures. Multiple countries have passed laws against "fake news", and thousands of people have been arrested for spreading COVID-19 misinformation. The spread of COVID-19 misinformation by governments has also been significant. (Full article...)

Testing

COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2. The two main branches detect either the presence of the virus or of antibodies produced in response to infection. Molecular tests for viral presence through its molecular components are used to diagnose individual cases and to allow public health authorities to trace and contain outbreaks. Antibody tests (serology immunoassays) instead show whether someone once had the disease. They are less useful for diagnosing current infections because antibodies may not develop for weeks after infection. It is used to assess disease prevalence, which aids the estimation of the infection fatality rate. (Full article...)

Vaccine research

A COVID‑19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19). Prior to the COVID‑19 pandemic, an established body of knowledge existed about the structure and function of coronaviruses causing diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). This knowledge accelerated the development of various vaccine platforms during early 2020. The initial focus of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines was on preventing symptomatic, often severe illness. On 10 January 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequence data was shared through GISAID, and by 19 March, the global pharmaceutical industry announced a major commitment to address COVID-19. The COVID‑19 vaccines are widely credited for their role in reducing the spread, severity, and death caused by COVID-19. (Full article...)

Drug research

COVID-19 drug development is the research process to develop preventative therapeutic prescription drugs that would alleviate the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). From early 2020 through 2021, several hundred drug companies, biotechnology firms, university research groups, and health organizations were developing therapeutic candidates for COVID-19 disease in various stages of preclinical or clinical research (506 total candidates in April 2021), with 419 potential COVID-19 drugs in clinical trials, as of April 2021. (Full article...)

Images

• 

  Scanning electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2 (centre, yellow)

• 

  This image reveals ultra-structural morphology exhibited by the virus

• 

  SARS-CoV-2 structure

(More images...)

Topics

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Get involved!

Get involved by joining WikiProject COVID-19. We discuss collaborations and all manner of issues on our talk page. As of 20 November 2021, there are 2,126 articles within the project's scope. A full list is available here.

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