The world is facing an emerging infectious disease from a new pathogen belonging to the Coronavirus family. The new virus has been named SARS-CoV-2 and causes the disease named coronavirus 2019 “COVID-19”. This virus has spread very rapidly, and it has spread to multiple countries worldwide. This virus spreads easily and has a higher mortality rate than seasonal influenza. On January 30, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared this situation as a Public Health Emergency of International Importance (PHEIC) and on March 11th it declared a pandemic.
Data as reported by national authorities by 00:00 CET 18 March 2020 (WHO, Situation Report – 58): Total number of cases in the regions of the Americas: 4979 confirmed (2243 in the last 24 hours), 68 deaths (18 in the last 24 hours).