Introduction

• Author: Dumbrava, Costica
• Pages: 1-4

Lifting coronavirus restrictions

1

1. Introduction

1.1. Coronavirus pandemic

On 31 December 2019, China informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of cases of pneumonia

of unknown cause detected in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province.1 The 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.

France reported2 the first cases in Europe on

24 January. By 12 March, when the

WHO declared the Covid-19 outbreak a

pandemic, Europe had become one of the

worst affected regions. According to the

European Centre for Disease Prevention and

Control (ECDC), as of 13 July, 12 875 963

Covid-19 cases had been reported

worldwide, including 568 628 deaths. In the

EU (European Union), EEA (European

Economic Area) and the UK, there had been

1 585 334 reported cases, including 179 433

deaths.

1 WHO, Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), Situation report – 1, 21 January 2020.

2 ECDC, 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 first detected 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 July 2020

Source: ECDC.