Introduction

AuthorDumbrava, Costica
Pages1-4
Lifting coronavirus restrictions
1
1.Introduction
1.1.Coronavirus pandemic
On 31 December 2019, China informedthe World Health Organization (WHO) of cases of pneumonia
of unknown cause detected in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province.1The new coronavirus (SARS-
CoV-2) was identified on 7 January 2020 and its genetic sequence was shared on 12 January. The
virus spread quickly in Asia and then globally.
Francereported2the first cases in Europe on
24January. By 12March, when the
WHOdeclaredthe Covid-19 outbreak a
pandemic, Europe had become one of the
worstaffected regions. According to the
European Centre for Disease Prevention and
Control (ECDC),as of 13July, 12875963
Covid-19 caseshad been reported
worldwide, including568628deaths.In the
EU (European Union), EEA (European
Economic Area) and the UK, there had been
1 585334reported cases, including 179433
deaths.
1WHO, Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), Situation report – 1, 21 January 2020.
2ECDC, Novel coronavirus: three cases reported in France, 25 January 2020.
SARS-CoV-2 and Covid-19
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause
symptoms ranging from the common cold to more
serious illnesses such as Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome
(MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS). The new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is
a strain of coronavirus that was firstdetected in China
in 2019. Covid-19 is the infectious disease caused by
SARS-CoV-2.
Source: ECDC, Q&A on COVID-19.
Figure 1 − Distribution of Covid-19 cases in the EU/EEA and the UK as of 13 July2020
Source: ECDC.

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT