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In December 2019, several patients from Wuhan, China were admitted with symptoms of pneumonia As the number of patients presenting with similar symptoms started to rise, the causative agent was eventually isolated from samples It was initially called the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and has been recently relabelled as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2);the disease it causes has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus special treatment Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is be well informed about the COVID-19 virus, the disease it causes and how it spreads Protect yourself and others from infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol based rub frequently and not touching your face The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow) At this time, there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19 However, there are many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential treatments WHO will continue to provide updated information as soon as clinical findings become available Since the virus is spreading worldwide, on March 31, 2020, the WHO officially described the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic
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