SARS-CoV-2: a storm is raging

In early December 2019, several local health facilities first reported pneumonia cases of unknown origin in Wuhan, China. This new coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first reported on December 1, 2020 and identified as a previously unknown betacoronavirus (1, 2). Since then, studies have increasingly demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted effectively among humans through aerosol or fomites (3-5). With transmission capabilities even before symptom onset (6, 7), this pandemic is rapidly evolving and expanding. As of April 2, 2020, a total of 962,977 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 49,180 deaths have been reported across 180 countries and regions. Recent models indicated that as much as 86% of all infections early in the spread were undocumented, suggesting the real number of infections is likely much greater (8). As a public health emergency of international concern, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Public health authorities around the globe are now racing to contain the spread.