Analysing and comparing the COVID-19 data: The closed cases of Hubei and South Korea, the dark March in Europe, the beginning of the outbreak in South America

Stefano De Leo; Gabriel Gulak Maia; Leonardo Solidoro

The COVID-19 outbreak is caused by a newly identified member of a large family of viruses known as coronaviruses (name deriving from the Latin word corona, meaning crown) . According to the World Health Organization (WHO) [1] this family of viruses causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). These viruses were originally transmitted from animals to people. SARS, first recognized in mid-March 2003 [2] , was transmitted from civet cats to humans, while MERS, first detected in Saudi Arabia in 2012 [3] , moved to humans from a type of camel. The novel coronavirus, identified by Chinese authorities on January 7 is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. The SARS-CoV-2 virus, as it has been named by the WHO, seems to be closely related to bat and pangolin coronaviruses, but a final confirmation has not yet been given [4] . People may catch COVID-19 by close contact with infected people, via small droplets produced when they cough, sneeze, talk, or by touching a contaminated surface and then their face. According to the WHO, symptoms of infection include fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. Notwithstanding the fact that infected patients can also be asymptomatic, in the more severe cases, the virus can lead to pneumonia, multiple organ failure and death. The number of fatalities from the new coronavirus has overwhelmingly overtaken the toll of the SARS outbreak but its percentage remains considerably lower compared to the 10 percent of SARS and 30 percent of MERS.