Epidemiology & Public Health

Track 1: Novel Coronavirus

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an illness caused by a novel coronavirus now known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; formerly known as 2019-nCoV), which was first identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, during an outbreak of respiratory illness. It was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31, 2019. When humans contract a coronavirus for the first time, it is frequently due to contact with an infected animal. Bats are one of the most common carriers, but they do not usually transmit coronaviruses directly to humans. Instead, the virus could spread through an intermediary animal, which is most often, but not always, a domestic animal.