Free COVID-19 Awareness Training

Broadly speaking, the coronavirus includes a group of virus strains that can induce illnesses ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). The specific virus that became a pandemic in early 2020 is SARS-CoV-2. This virus causes acute respiratory illness, also known as the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Find out more by enrolling in the course today. 

Like all coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 is zoonotic, meaning it was spread from animals to humans. This novel coronavirus was believed to have been transmitted from bats to humans and was first found in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. 

In person-to-person transmission, also known as “community spread”, coronavirus is spread from the respiratory droplets of someone who is actively sick with the virus. Because the virus is so robust and is able to survive on surfaces, you can also contract the virus by touching contaminated objects.

The amount of time someone is sick with this coronavirus varies from person to person, largely dependent on their age. Many kids who are infected show little to know symptoms of COVID-19. In contrast, the elderly are far more susceptible to this coronavirus and can experience moderate to severe symptoms for weeks. It can also take 2 to 14 days for a person to notice their coronavirus symptoms after they are infected, with symptoms tending to appear around day 5, on average.