The COVID-19 portal

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Most scientists believe the SARS-CoV-2 virus entered into human populations through natural zoonosis, similar to the SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV outbreaks, and consistent with other pandemics in human history. Social and environmental factors including climate change, natural ecosystem destruction and wildlife trade increased the likelihood of such zoonotic spillover. The disease quickly spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transmission and life-cycle of SARS-CoV-2 causing COVID-19.

Several COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and distributed in various countries, many of which have initiated mass vaccination campaigns. Other preventive measures include physical or social distancing, quarantining, ventilation of indoor spaces, use of face masks or coverings in public, covering coughs and sneezes, hand washing, and keeping unwashed hands away from the face. While drugs have been developed to inhibit the virus, the primary treatment is still symptomatic, managing the disease through supportive care, isolation, and experimental measures.

The WHO ended the PHEIC for COVID-19 on 5 May 2023. The disease has continued to circulate, but as of 2024, experts were uncertain as to whether it was still a pandemic. Pandemics and their ends are not well-defined, and whether or not one has ended differs according to the definition used. As of 2 November 2024, COVID-19 has caused 7,071,756[1] confirmed deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic ranks as the fifth-deadliest pandemic or epidemic in history. (Full article)
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About the virus

SARS-CoV-2 as seen by a cryo-electron tomography scan.

SARS‑CoV‑2 belongs to the broad family of viruses known as coronaviruses. It is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA) virus, with a single linear RNA segment. Coronaviruses infect humans, other mammals, including livestock and companion animals, and avian species. Human coronaviruses are capable of causing illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS, fatality rate ~34%). SARS-CoV-2 is the seventh known coronavirus to infect people, after 229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1, MERS-CoV, and the original SARS-CoV.

Like the SARS-related coronavirus implicated in the 2003 SARS outbreak, SARS‑CoV‑2 is a member of the subgenus Sarbecovirus (beta-CoV lineage B). Coronaviruses undergo frequent recombination. The mechanism of recombination in unsegmented RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 is generally by copy-choice replication, in which gene material switches from one RNA template molecule to another during replication. The SARS-CoV-2 RNA sequence is approximately 30,000 bases in length, relatively long for a coronavirus—which in turn carry the largest genomes among all RNA families. Its genome consists nearly entirely of protein-coding sequences, a trait shared with other coronaviruses. (Full article)

Disease progress

As of 2 November 2024, 776,639,209 cases of COVID-19 have been reported, resulting in 7,071,756 reported deaths.[1]


Updated November 2, 2024.
COVID-19 pandemic by location[1]
Location Cases Deaths
World[a] 776,639,209 7,071,756
European Union European Union[b] 186,217,379 1,264,944
United States United States 103,436,829 1,204,929
China China[c] 99,380,901 122,367
India India 45,043,948 533,651
France France 39,022,501 168,091
Germany Germany 38,437,756 174,979
Brazil Brazil 37,511,921 702,116
South Korea South Korea 34,571,873 35,934
Japan Japan 33,803,572 74,694
Italy Italy 26,826,486 197,542
United Kingdom United Kingdom 25,003,394 232,112
Russia Russia 24,523,212 403,463
Turkey Turkey 17,004,728 101,419
Spain Spain 13,980,340 121,852
Australia Australia 11,861,161 25,236
Vietnam Vietnam 11,624,000 43,206
Argentina Argentina 10,105,048 130,691
Taiwan Taiwan 9,970,937 17,672
Netherlands Netherlands 8,643,755 22,986
Iran Iran 7,627,863 146,837
Mexico Mexico 7,622,247 334,764
Indonesia Indonesia 6,829,624 162,059
Poland Poland 6,751,340 120,854
Colombia Colombia 6,394,268 142,727
Austria Austria 6,082,765 22,534
Greece Greece 5,721,114 39,585
Portugal Portugal 5,669,178 29,013
Ukraine Ukraine 5,541,734 109,923
Chile Chile 5,403,124 64,482
Malaysia Malaysia 5,316,630 37,351
Belgium Belgium 4,887,023 34,339
Israel Israel 4,841,558 12,707
Canada Canada 4,819,055 55,282
Thailand Thailand 4,802,736 34,732
Czech Republic Czech Republic 4,801,643 43,631
Peru Peru 4,526,977 220,975
Switzerland Switzerland 4,465,636 14,170
Philippines Philippines 4,173,631 66,864
South Africa South Africa 4,072,811 102,595
Romania Romania 3,566,304 68,899
Denmark Denmark 3,442,093 9,914
Singapore Singapore 3,006,155 2,024
Hong Kong Hong Kong 2,876,106 13,466
Sweden Sweden 2,763,543 27,883
New Zealand New Zealand 2,650,294 4,435
Serbia Serbia 2,583,470 18,057
Iraq Iraq 2,465,545 25,375
Hungary Hungary 2,235,361 49,084
Bangladesh Bangladesh 2,051,446 29,499
Slovakia Slovakia 1,882,501 21,242
Georgia (country) Georgia 1,863,615 17,150
Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland 1,750,009 9,897
Jordan Jordan 1,746,997 14,122
Pakistan Pakistan 1,580,631 30,656
Norway Norway 1,522,506 5,732
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 1,504,370 19,072
Finland Finland 1,499,712 11,466
Lithuania Lithuania 1,396,879 9,837
Slovenia Slovenia 1,359,439 9,914
Croatia Croatia 1,345,871 18,774
Bulgaria Bulgaria 1,336,616 38,738
Morocco Morocco 1,279,115 16,305
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico 1,252,713 5,938
Guatemala Guatemala 1,250,392 20,203
Lebanon Lebanon 1,239,904 10,947
Costa Rica Costa Rica 1,235,662 9,374
Bolivia Bolivia 1,212,149 22,387
Tunisia Tunisia 1,153,361 29,423
Cuba Cuba 1,113,662 8,530
Ecuador Ecuador 1,078,751 36,054
United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates 1,067,030 2,349
Panama Panama 1,044,987 8,756
Uruguay Uruguay 1,041,588 7,684
Mongolia Mongolia 1,011,489 2,136
Nepal Nepal 1,003,450 12,031
Belarus Belarus 994,038 7,118
Latvia Latvia 977,765 7,475
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 841,469 9,646
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan 836,443 10,353
Paraguay Paraguay 735,759 19,880
Cyprus Cyprus 708,271 1,492
State of Palestine Palestine 703,228 5,708
Bahrain Bahrain 696,614 1,536
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 672,802 16,907
Kuwait Kuwait 667,290 2,570
Dominican Republic Dominican Republic 661,103 4,384
Moldova Moldova 650,455 12,280
Myanmar Myanmar 643,196 19,494
Estonia Estonia 610,471 2,998
Venezuela Venezuela 552,695 5,856
Egypt Egypt 516,023 24,830
Qatar Qatar 514,524 690
Libya Libya 507,269 6,437
Ethiopia Ethiopia 501,237 7,574
Réunion Réunion 494,595 921
Honduras Honduras 472,909 11,114
Armenia Armenia 452,977 8,778
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina 403,890 16,400
Oman Oman 399,449 4,628
Luxembourg Luxembourg 395,541 1,000
North Macedonia North Macedonia 352,017 9,990
Zambia Zambia 349,889 4,078
Brunei Brunei 349,074 181
Kenya Kenya 344,109 5,689
Albania Albania 337,189 3,608
Botswana Botswana 330,696 2,801
Mauritius Mauritius 329,068 1,074
Kosovo Kosovo 274,279 3,212
Algeria Algeria 272,172 6,881
Nigeria Nigeria 267,189 3,155
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 266,396 5,740
Montenegro Montenegro 251,280 2,654
Afghanistan Afghanistan 235,214 7,998
Mozambique Mozambique 233,845 2,252
Martinique Martinique 230,354 1,104
Laos Laos 219,060 671
Iceland Iceland 210,635 186
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe 203,235 1,021
El Salvador El Salvador 201,958 4,230
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago 191,496 4,390
Maldives Maldives 186,694 316
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan 175,081 1,016
Namibia Namibia 172,556 4,110
Ghana Ghana 172,188 1,462
Uganda Uganda 172,159 3,632
Jamaica Jamaica 157,315 3,618
Cambodia Cambodia 139,324 3,056
Rwanda Rwanda 133,266 1,468
Cameroon Cameroon 125,269 1,974
Malta Malta 123,102 925
Barbados Barbados 108,834 593
Angola Angola 107,482 1,937
Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo 100,976 1,474
French Guiana French Guiana 98,041 413
Senegal Senegal 89,311 1,972
Malawi Malawi 89,168 2,686
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan 88,953 1,024
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast 88,448 835
Suriname Suriname 82,503 1,406
New Caledonia New Caledonia 80,203 314
French Polynesia French Polynesia 79,451 650
Eswatini Eswatini 75,356 1,427
Guyana Guyana 74,491 1,302
Belize Belize 71,430 688
Fiji Fiji 69,047 885
Madagascar Madagascar 68,574 1,428
Jersey Jersey 66,391 161
Cape Verde Cabo Verde 64,474 417
Sudan Sudan 63,993 5,046
Mauritania Mauritania 63,876 997
Bhutan Bhutan 62,697 21
Syria Syria 57,423 3,163
Burundi Burundi 54,569 15
Guam Guam 52,287 419
Seychelles Seychelles 51,892 172
Gabon Gabon 49,056 307
Andorra Andorra 48,015 159
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea 46,864 670
Curaçao Curaçao 45,883 305
Aruba Aruba 44,224 292
Tanzania Tanzania 43,253 846
Mayotte Mayotte 42,027 187
Togo Togo 39,533 290
The Bahamas Bahamas 39,127 849
Guinea Guinea 38,582 468
Isle of Man Isle of Man 38,008 116
Lesotho Lesotho 36,138 709
Guernsey Guernsey 35,326 67
Faroe Islands Faroe Islands 34,658 28
Haiti Haiti 34,554 860
Mali Mali 33,171 743
Federated States of Micronesia Federated States of Micronesia 31,765 65
Cayman Islands Cayman Islands 31,472 37
Saint Lucia Saint Lucia 30,288 410
Benin Benin 28,036 163
Somalia Somalia 27,334 1,361
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands 25,954 199
United States Virgin Islands United States Virgin Islands 25,389 132
San Marino San Marino 25,292 126
Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo 25,234 389
East Timor Timor-Leste 23,460 138
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso 22,146 400
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein 21,602 89
Gibraltar Gibraltar 20,550 113
Grenada Grenada 19,693 238
Bermuda Bermuda 18,860 165
South Sudan South Sudan 18,844 147
Tajikistan Tajikistan 17,786 125
Monaco Monaco 17,181 67
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea 17,130 183
Samoa Samoa 17,057 31
Tonga Tonga 16,992 13
Marshall Islands Marshall Islands 16,297 17
Nicaragua Nicaragua 16,194 245
Dominica Dominica 16,047 74
Djibouti Djibouti 15,690 189
Central African Republic Central African Republic 15,443 113
Northern Mariana Islands Northern Mariana Islands 14,985 41
The Gambia Gambia 12,627 372
Collectivity of Saint Martin Collectivity of Saint Martin 12,324 46
Vanuatu Vanuatu 12,019 14
Greenland Greenland 11,971 21
Yemen Yemen 11,945 2,159
Caribbean Netherlands Caribbean Netherlands 11,922 41
Sint Maarten Sint Maarten 11,051 92
Eritrea Eritrea 10,189 103
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 9,674 124
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau 9,614 177
Niger Niger 9,528 315
Comoros Comoros 9,109 160
Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda 9,106 146
American Samoa American Samoa 8,359 34
Liberia Liberia 8,090 294
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone 7,983 126
Chad Chad 7,702 194
British Virgin Islands British Virgin Islands 7,628 64
Cook Islands Cook Islands 7,375 2
Turks and Caicos Islands Turks and Caicos Islands 6,813 40
São Tomé and Príncipe Sao Tome and Principe 6,771 80
Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis 6,607 46
Palau Palau 6,372 10
Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy 5,507 5
Nauru Nauru 5,393 1
Kiribati Kiribati 5,085 24
Anguilla Anguilla 3,904 12
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna 3,760 9
Macau Macau 3,514 121
Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon 3,426 2
Tuvalu Tuvalu 2,943 1
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 2,166 0
Falkland Islands Falkland Islands 1,923 0
Montserrat Montserrat 1,403 8
Niue Niue 1,092 0
Tokelau Tokelau 80 0
Vatican City Vatican City 26 0
Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands 4 0
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan 0 0
North Korea North Korea 0 0
  1. ^ Countries which do not report data for a column are not included in that column's world total.
  2. ^ Data on member states of the European Union are individually listed, but are also summed here for convenience. They are not double-counted in world totals.
  3. ^ Does not include special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau) or Taiwan.

About the symptoms

Symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

The symptoms of COVID-19 are variable depending on the type of variant contracted, ranging from mild symptoms to a potentially fatal illness. Common symptoms include coughing, fever, loss of smell (anosmia) and taste (ageusia), with less common ones including headaches, nasal congestion and runny nose, muscle pain, sore throat, diarrhea, eye irritation, and toes swelling or turning purple, and in moderate to severe cases, breathing difficulties. People with the COVID-19 infection may have different symptoms, and their symptoms may change over time. Three common clusters of symptoms have been identified: one respiratory symptom cluster with cough, sputum, shortness of breath, and fever; a musculoskeletal symptom cluster with muscle and joint pain, headache, and fatigue; and a cluster of digestive symptoms with abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. In people without prior ear, nose, or throat disorders, loss of taste combined with loss of smell is associated with COVID-19 and is reported in as many as 88% of symptomatic cases. (Full article)

About the spread

COVID-19 is mainly transmitted when people breathe in air contaminated by droplets/aerosols and small airborne particles containing the virus. Infected people exhale those particles as they breathe, talk, cough, sneeze, or sing. Transmission is more likely the closer people are. However, infection can occur over longer distances, particularly indoors.

Infectious particles range in size from aerosols that remain suspended in the air for long periods of time to larger droplets that remain airborne briefly or fall to the ground. Additionally, COVID-19 research has redefined the traditional understanding of how respiratory viruses are transmitted. The largest droplets of respiratory fluid do not travel far, but can be inhaled or land on mucous membranes on the eyes, nose, or mouth to infect. Aerosols are highest in concentration when people are in close proximity, which leads to easier viral transmission when people are physically close, but airborne transmission can occur at longer distances, mainly in locations that are poorly ventilated; in those conditions small particles can remain suspended in the air for minutes to hours. (Full article)

Containment measures

Goals of mitigation include delaying and reducing peak burden on healthcare (flattening the curve) and lessening overall cases and health impact.
Many countries attempted to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19 by recommending, mandating or prohibiting behaviour changes, while others relied primarily on providing information. Measures ranged from public advisories to stringent lockdowns. Outbreak control strategies are divided into elimination and mitigation. Experts differentiate between" zero-COVID", which is an elimination strategy, and mitigation strategies that attempt to lessen the effects of the virus on society, but which still tolerate some level of transmission within the community. Containment strategies consists of the use of public health measures such as contact tracing, mass testing, border quarantine, lockdowns and mitigation software.These strategies can be pursued sequentially or simultaneously during the acquired immunity phase through natural and vaccine-induced immunity.

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23 October 2024 – Demographics of Germany, German economic crisis
The Ifo Institute for Economic Research reports that Germany experienced a 13% birth rate decline nationally and up to a 17.5% birth rate decline in eastern Germany between 2021 and 2023, with the institute attributing the decline to several reasons including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russo-Ukrainian war, and high inflation. (DW)
6 September 2024 –
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces the end of its international adoption program after suspending the program during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Al Jazeera)

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Economic impact

The COVID-19 pandemic caused far-reaching economic consequences including the COVID-19 recession, the second largest global recession in recent history, decreased business in the services sector during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the 2020 stock market crash (which included the largest single-week stock market decline since the financial crisis of 2007–2008), the impact of COVID-19 on financial markets, the 2021–2023 global supply chain crisis, the 2021–2023 inflation surge, shortages related to the COVID-19 pandemic including the 2020–present global chip shortage, panic buying, and price gouging. The pandemic led to governments providing an unprecedented amount of stimulus, and was also a factor in the 2021–2022 global energy crisis and 2022–2023 food crises.

Amidst the recovery and containment, the world economic system was characterized as experiencing significant, broad uncertainty. Economic forecasts and consensus among macroeconomics experts show significant disagreement on the overall extent, long-term effects and projected recovery. A large general increase in prices was attributed to the pandemic. In part, the record-high energy prices were driven by a global surge in demand as the world quit the economic recession caused by COVID-19, particularly due to strong energy demand in Asia. (Full article)

Workplace

Hazard controls for COVID-19 in workplaces are the application of occupational safety and health methodologies for hazard controls to the prevention of COVID-19. Multiple layers of controls are recommended, including measures such as remote work and flextime, personal protective equipment (PPE) and face coverings, social distancing, and enhanced cleaning programs. Recently, engineering controls have been emphasized, particularly stressing the importance of HVAC systems meeting a minimum of 5 air changes per hour with ventilation or MERV-13 filters, as well as the installation of UVGI systems in public areas. (Full article)

Misinformation

False information, including intentional disinformation and conspiracy theories, about the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic and the origin, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease has been spread through social media, text messaging, and mass media. False information has been propagated by celebrities, politicians, and other prominent public figures. Many countries have passed laws against "fake news", and thousands of people have been arrested for spreading COVID-19 misinformation. The spread of COVID-19 misinformation by governments has also been significant. (Full article)

Testing

COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that cases 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. (Full article)

Vaccine research

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).

The COVID‑19 vaccines are widely credited for their role in reducing the spread of COVID‑19 and reducing the severity and death caused by COVID‑19. According to a June 2022 study, COVID‑19 vaccines prevented an additional 14.4 to 19.8 million deaths in 185 countries and territories from 8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021. Many countries implemented phased distribution plans that prioritized those at highest risk of complications, such as the elderly, and those at high risk of exposure and transmission, such as healthcare workers. (Full article)

Drug research

COVID-19 drug development is the research process to develop preventative therapeutic prescription drugs that would alleviate the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). From early 2020 through 2021, several hundred drug companies, biotechnology firms, university research groups, and health organizations were developing therapeutic candidates for COVID-19 disease in various stages of preclinical or clinical research (506 total candidates in April 2021), with 419 potential COVID-19 drugs in clinical trials, as of April 2021. (Full article)

Long COVID

Long COVID or long-haul COVID is a group of health problems persisting or developing after an initial period of COVID-19 infection. Symptoms can last weeks, months or years and are often debilitating. The World Health Organization defines long COVID as starting three months after the initial COVID-19 infection, but other agencies define it as starting at four weeks after the initial infection.

The causes of long COVID are not yet fully understood. Hypotheses include lasting damage to organs and blood vessels, problems with blood clotting, neurological dysfunction, persistent virus or a reactivation of latent viruses and autoimmunity. Diagnosis of long COVID is based on (suspected or confirmed) COVID-19 infection or symptoms—and by excluding alternative diagnoses. (Full article)

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References

  1. ^ a b c Mathieu, Edouard; Ritchie, Hannah; Rodés-Guirao, Lucas; Appel, Cameron; Giattino, Charlie; Hasell, Joe; Macdonald, Bobbie; Dattani, Saloni; Beltekian, Diana; Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban; Roser, Max (2020–2024). "Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)". Our World in Data. Retrieved 2024-11-02.

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