COVID-19

COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. It was first identified in Wuhan City, China in December 2019 and has since spread around the world to become an international pandemic. As of April 2021, over 131 million cases have been confirmed worldwide with over 2.8 million deaths attributed to COVID-19 making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history.

The virus primarily spreads through close contact between people via inhalation of droplets from infected individuals who are coughing or sneezing as well as contact with contaminated surfaces or objects such as door handles and other items that can carry viral particles for up to several days after they were touched by someone carrying the virus. Other methods include fecal contamination when not following proper hygiene practices such as handwashing and wearing face coverings while out in public places where social distancing may be difficult to maintain due to overcrowding or lack of space available for physical distancing measures like staying 6 feet away from others if possible. People who have pre existing medical conditions like asthma, diabetes, obesity etc.. may be at higher risk than those without these health issues which makes it important to take extra precautionary steps if you fall into this category – consulting your doctor regularly about any symptoms experienced should also help reduce chances further infection too!

Once infected most people will experience mild symptoms including fever cough sore throat loss of smell/taste fatigue body aches headaches congestion nasal drainage chills chest tightness shortness breath amongst others but some may develop more severe complications requiring hospitalization including pneumonia difficulty breathing organ failure septic shock stroke blood clots respiratory distress syndrome multi system inflammatory disorder (MIS) among many others depending on individual’s overall health status before being exposed – so early detection & treatment using antiviral medications is key here! Additionally there are vaccines currently available which offer protection against contracting COVID-19 however none provide absolute immunity yet; thus continued adherence protective behaviors along with regular testing remains essential even post vaccination until herd immunity levels reach sufficient levels globally prevent future outbreaks occurring again anytime soon….