Updated on September 8, 2020.
The New Coronavirus Disease, designated COVID-19 by the World Health Organization, is an infectious disease. A study of the samples taken from patients has led experts to conclude on 7 January that the virus causing the disease is of the Coronavirus family, as in the SARS (2002) and MERS (2012) outbreaks, and the virus was designated as the New Coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV)
Compared to the mortality rates of the SARS and MERS outbreaks in the past, this disease currently has a relatively low mortality rate of 2%. Data suggests that the virus is more likely to cause severe illness in advanced age and in people who have an accompanying disease (such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease). The disease progresses relatively mildly in young and healthy adults.
The incubation period is the period after which the symptoms and effects of the disease manifest once the virus has entered the body. The New Coronavirus is known to cause suddenly onsetting symptoms of high fever (37.6 °C), coughing and shortness of breath following an incubation period of 2 to 14 days. Some patients have also exhibited symptoms of sore throat and nasal congestion. In severe cases, lung infections, severe acute respiratory infections and renal failure can be seen.
High Fever (37.6 °C)
Coughing
Shortness of Breath Following
Throat and Nasal Congestion
The virus infects mainly through the inhalation of the small respiratory droplets that are generated upon the coughing and sneezing of infected individuals. It can also infect when hands are brought without washing into contact with the face, eyes, nose or mouth after touching surfaces polluted with droplets from infected individuals. Touching the eyes, nose or mouth with dirty hands increases the risk.
No vaccine has yet been developed against the virus, and therefore, the basic principles for avoiding acute respiratory tract infections also apply to the New Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Please make sure you take the following precautions recommended against all respiratory tract viruses, including 2019-nCoV.
Hands hould be washed with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
Hands should not be brought in contact with the mouth, nose and eyes without washing.
Contact with infected individuals should be avoided, including those infected with the seasonal flu.
People suffering from viral respiratory tract infections are advised to cover their mouth and nose with disposable paper tissues while coughing and sneezing.
This information given on this page is developed based on the announcements and regulatory notices from the Ministry of Health’s Covid-19 website.