Since December, 2019, an outbreak of pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has raised intense attention in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. 1-3 This disease, named COVID-19 by World Health Organization (WHO), spreads rapidly around the country and worldwide. Coronaviruses can infect a variety of livestock, poultry, and humans, in which they can cause respiratory, enteric, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases. SARS-CoV-2 appears to have greater infectivity and a lower case fatality rate (CFR) as compared to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS). 8 So far, a few patients with SARS-CoV-2 have developed severe pneumonia, pulmonary oedema, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), or multiple organ failure and died.
According to a summary of a report of 72 314 cases from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the overall case-fatality rate was 2.3% (1023 deaths among 44 672 confirmed cases). 9 No deaths were reported among mild and severe cases. The CFR was 49.0% among critical cases.