WHAT IS A CORONAVIRUS Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which may cause illness in animals or humans. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. WHAT IS A COVID-19? COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus (“CO” stands for corona; “VI” for virus; “19” the year in which it appeared). This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19? The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome and even death. IS THERE A VACCINE, DRUG OR TREATMENT FOR COVID-19? Not yet. To date, there is no vaccine and no specific antiviral medicine to prevent or treat COVID-2019. However, those affected should receive care to relieve symptoms. People with serious illness should be hospitalized. Most patients recover thanks to supportive care. Possible vaccines and some specific drug treatments are under investigation. WHO IS AT RISK OF DEVELOPING SEVERE ILLNESS? While we are still learning about how COVID-2019 affects people, older persons and persons with pre-existing medical conditions (such as high blood pressure, heart disease, lung disease, cancer or diabetes) appear to develop serious illness more often than others.