SARS-CoV-2 in the context of "COVID-19"

The global COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Soon afterward, it spread to other parts of Asia and then worldwide in early 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020, and assessed it as having become a pandemic on 11 March. The WHO declared the public health emergency caused by COVID-19 had ended in May 2023.

COVID-19 symptoms range from asymptomatic to deadly, but most commonly include fever, sore throat, nocturnal cough, and fatigue. Transmission of the virus is often through airborne particles. Mutations have produced many strains (variants) with varying degrees of infectivity and virulence. COVID-19 vaccines were developed rapidly and deployed to the general public beginning in December 2020, made available through government and international programmes such as COVAX, aiming to provide vaccine equity. Treatments include novel antiviral drugs and symptom control. Common mitigation measures during the public health emergency included travel restrictions, lockdowns, business restrictions and closures, workplace hazard controls, mask mandates, quarantines, testing systems, and contact tracing of the infected.

This is a general overview and status of places affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The first human cases of COVID-19 were identified in Wuhan, the capital of the province of Hubei in China in December 2019. It spread to other areas of Asia, and then worldwide in early 2020.

The figures presented are based on reported cases and deaths. While in several high-income countries the ratio of total estimated cases and deaths to reported cases and deaths is low and close to 1, for some countries it may be more than 10 or even more than 100. Implementation of COVID-19 surveillance methods varies widely.

Variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are viruses that, while similar to the original, have genetic changes that are of enough significance to lead virologists to label them separately. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Some have been stated to be of particular importance, due to their potential for increased transmissibility, increased virulence, or reduced effectiveness of vaccines against them. These variants contribute to the continued circulation of SARS-CoV-2.

As of 25 June 2025, the variants of interest as specified by the World Health Organization are JN.1, and the variants under monitoring are KP.3, KP.3.1.1, JN.1.18, LP.8.1, NB.1.8.1, XEC and XFG.

A COVID‑19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19).

Knowledge about the structure and function of previous coronaviruses causing diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) accelerated the development of various vaccine platforms in early 2020. In 2020, the first COVID‑19 vaccines were developed and made available to the public through emergency authorizations and conditional approvals. However, immunity from the vaccines wanes over time, requiring people to get booster doses of the vaccine to maintain protection against COVID‑19.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks or coverings, including N95, FFP2, surgical, and cloth masks, have been employed as public and personal health control measures against the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

In community and healthcare settings, the use of face masks is intended as source control to limit transmission of the virus and for personal protection to prevent infection. Properly worn masks both limit the respiratory droplets and aerosols spread by infected individuals and help protect healthy individuals from infection.

COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The two main types of tests detect either the presence of the virus or antibodies produced in response to infection. Molecular tests for viral presence through its molecular components are used to diagnose individual cases and to allow public health authorities to trace and contain outbreaks. Antibody tests (serology immunoassays) instead show whether someone once had the disease. They are less useful for diagnosing current infections because antibodies may not develop for weeks after infection. It is used to assess disease prevalence, which aids the estimation of the infection fatality rate.

Individual jurisdictions have adopted varied testing protocols, including whom to test, how often to test, analysis protocols, sample collection and the uses of test results. This variation has likely significantly impacted reported statistics, including case and test numbers, case fatality rates and case demographics. Because SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs days after exposure (and before onset of symptoms), there is an urgent need for frequent surveillance and rapid availability of results.

The COVID-19 pandemic in North Macedonia was a part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2. The virus was confirmed to have reached North Macedonia in February 2020. The initial contagion in the country was mainly connected with the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy as there are circa 70,000 residents of Italy from North Macedonia and resulted in many people returning to North Macedonia, bringing the virus with them. As of 9 July, over 7,000 cases have been confirmed in the country, due to its second wave caused by family reunions during Eid al-Fitr among the Muslim minority and the overall re-opening of the country to organize the parliamentary elections.

COVIran Barekat (Persian: کووایران برکت) is a COVID-19 vaccine developed in Iran by Shifa Pharmed Industrial Group, a subsidiary of the Barkat Pharmaceutical Group. It is an inactivated virus-based vaccine. Iranian authorities have authorized its emergency use. This makes it the first locally developed COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for emergency use in the Middle East.

Officials in charge say they are in the process to publish the results of the clinical trials in a peer-reviewed journal. The interim results of the phases 1 and 2 trials showed 93.5% (95% CI, 88.4–99.6%) of the receivers of the vaccine have produced neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Those results have not been peer-reviewed and describe the immunogenicity of the vaccine and not its efficacy. On 3 March 2022, peer-reviewed results have been published in the Clinical Microbiology and Infection.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Romania, a part of the worldwide pandemic, began on 26 February 2020 when the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Romania was confirmed in Gorj County was confirmed.

As of 31 January 2022, the National Institute of Public Health reported around 2,200,000 cases, 1,800,000 recoveries, and 60,000 COVID-19-related deaths. More than 11.7 million RT-PCR tests and more than 7.3 million rapid antigen tests were processed.