- COVID-19 is the disease; SARS-2-CoV is the virus. You might also see it referred to as SARS-nCoV-2 or just nCoV-2. The 'n' stands for novel, meaning it is novel to humans
- The virus infects the respiratory tract of humans and can be transmitted readily person-to-person, often through respiratory droplets resulting from coughing or sneezing
- The incubation period is ~6.4 days, although this can vary from as little as 2 to as much as 12 days
- The virus can be shed (meaning it gets released from the cells in the body and be transmitted) for ~7 days after symptoms have cleared
- Case fatality rate (CFR; the number of confirmed infections resulting from death) is still uncertain but seems to be ~1% on average, although it increases dramatically in people over 65 years. For comparison, CFR for seasonal flu is ~0.1% whereas the SARS outbreak in 2002 was about 10%.