COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly contagious viral infection caused by the SARS-COV-2 virus. There are seven different types of the coronavirus, which is common in humans as well as animals. These; NL63 (alpha coronavirus), 229E (alpha coronavirus), HKU1 (beta coronavirus), OC43 (beta coronavirus), MERS-CoV (beta coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS), SARS-CoV (beta coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS), SARS-CoV-2 (Novel coronavirus 2019 or COVID-19 that causes novel coronavirus disease). The SARS-CoV-2 virus was first declared in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. COVID-19, caused by this virus, was reported a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 12, 2020. The rapid global transmission of COVID-19 occurs by droplets, contact and aerosol. Common symptoms in COVID-19 disease include fever, dry cough, sore throat, headache, muscle pain, shortness of breath, and loss of taste and/or smell. Early detection of cases, rapid contact tracing, quarantine, hygiene, social distance measures, mask, restricted social lifestyle are important in the control and prevention of the spread of the disease.