The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emergent public health crisis threatening the current world health establishment. The SARS-Co-2 was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. There have been about 6.5 million reported cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and about 350 000 reported deaths throughout the world within the last 6 months from the onset of the epidemic. The virus is primarily transmitted by inhalation or contact with infected droplets. The COVID-19 patient usually presents with fever, cough, sore throat and breathlessness. Currently, available data indicate that the majority of people with the disease have mild symptoms, while about 20% present with moderate-to-severe disease. About 5% of these may progress to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and multi-organ dysfunction. To date, there is no recommended medical treatment, and supportive measures are a crucial part of management. The case fatality rate of SARS-CoV-2 is lower than that of its two coronavirus predecessors, that is, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The full impact of this new pandemic on health, social and economic well-being of humankind is yet to be ascertained.
On 31 December 2019, a cluster of pneumonias of unknown aetiology was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. A week later, a novel coronavirus was identified by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Taxonomically, coronaviruses are members of the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae in the family Coronaviridae and the order Nidovirales. This subfamily Orthocoronavirinae includes four genera:
Lower pathogenicity HCoV-229E (alpha coronavirus) HCoV-NL63 (alpha coronavirus) HCoV-OC43 (beta coronavirus) HCoV-HKU1 (beta coronavirus)
Higher pathogenicity SARS-CoV (beta coronavirus) MERS-CoV (beta coronavirus) SARS-CoV-2 (beta coronavirus)
This new strain of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) was identified for the first time in humans, and the sequence of the virus is phylogenetically similar to the other six coronavirus subtypes.
All seven human coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning that they are transmitted from animals to humans.
The major outbreaks of coronaviruses were SARS-CoV during 2002–2003 and MERS-C0V during 2012. The SARS-CoV outbreak involved 8422 patients and spread to 29 countries globally, with a case fatality rate of 9.6% during 2002–2003.
The presentation of COVID-19 ranges from mild, self-limiting respiratory tract infection to progressive severe pneumonia, leading to death. According to the current evidence, 80% of patients develop only mild symptoms, an estimated 15% develop severe illness with hypoxaemia and about 5% become critically ill with respiratory failure (
Spectrum of clinical presentation and progression of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
Algorithm for testing person under investigation for coronavirus disease 2019.
The severity of the disease in patients is classified according to the following criteria
shortness of breath
respiratory rate > 30 breaths per minute in an adult
SpO2 ≤ 95
chest X-ray with multi-lobar infiltrates or pulmonary infiltration progressing to > 50% within 24 h – 48 h.
People with advanced age, diabetes, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or long-term use of immunosuppressive agents, and those with comorbidities, are associated with higher mortality.
Case definition of coronaviruses disease 2019
The case definition of COVID-19 is persons presenting with a sudden onset of acute respiratory illness and at least one of the following symptoms: cough, shortness of breath, sore throat and fever (≥ 38 °C), or a history of fever, irrespective of admission status.
Persons who have an acute respiratory illness and in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms met one of the following epidemiological criteria are at the highest risk In close contact with a confirmed or probable case of SARS-CoV-2 infection. History of travel to areas with local transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Worked in, or attended a healthcare facility where patients with SARS-CoV-2 infections were being treated. Admitted with severe pneumonia of unknown aetiology.
Person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is common. Personal contact and respiratory droplets are the main routes of transmission.
Although WHO has identified symptomatic cases as the main driver of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, The possibility of transmission prior to developing symptoms is a matter of grave concern, but it remains to be defined.
Isolation criteria may be applied in different ways during the course of the coronavirus epidemic. The following criteria are currently applied for hospitalised patients in South Africa (
Mild cases can be isolated for 14 days after the onset of symptoms while in moderate-to-severe cases, after achieving clinical stability, the patient should be isolated for 14 days.
In severe disease, viral shedding can be continuous for a longer time period, and patients should be isolated for 14 days after supplementary oxygen has been discontinued.
Flow diagram for contact tracing, screening and monitoring of coronavirus disease 2019.
The approximate duration of viral shedding of SARS-CoV-2 is 20 days, with a range of 8–37 days. Although asymptomatic patients have viral loads similar to those of symptomatic patients, they are less likely to be infectious.
All healthcare workers who are involved in the management of confirmed cases of COVID-19 must use appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), consisting of gloves, apron or gown and a surgical mask. When health care workers perform aerosol-generating procedures on a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patient, they should use an N95 respirator, gloves, apron or gown and eye protection (shield or goggles).
Infection prevention and control (IPC) is an integral part of the management of COVID-19 patients.
The reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test is currently available for SARS-CoV-2 infection in South Africa (
full blood count and differential count
blood cultures
nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs for viral and atypical pathogens
chest X-ray
sputum for microscopy, culture and sensitivity (MC&S)
GeneXpert mycobacterium tuberculosis/resistance to rifampicin (MTB/RIF) Ultra
urine for lipoarabinomannan (LAM) test, if HIV-positive.
The diagnosis of conventional respiratory pathogen does not rule out SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Common complications of coronavirus disease 2019
Overall, pneumonia is the most common complication in COVID-19 patients.
Among critically ill patients, the following complications are reported:
acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
shock or septic shock
acute kidney injury/renal failure
acute hepatic injury
cardiac abnormalities, for example, acute cardiac injury, cardiomyopathy or arrhythmia
hospital-acquired infection/ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Common laboratory findings reported in coronavirus disease 2019
lymphopenia
thrombocytopenia
leukopenia
elevated aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) and much higher with severe disease
procalcitonin, typically normal on admission
increased lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines
increased D-dimers.
A contact is a person who fulfils the following criteria:
a person in direct care or staying in the same environment as that of a COVID-19 patient
working with healthcare workers infected with a COVID-19 patient
working together or having close proximity to a COVID-19 patient
travelling with a COVID-19 patient in any kind of conveyance
sharing the same household with a COVID-19 patient.
Persons who have been exposed to a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patient need to isolate themselves and monitor their health for 14 days from the last day of possible contact.
The goal in clinical management of cases is to reduce morbidity and mortality, and minimise transmission to uninfected contacts. This means triaging patients, and early recognition of hospital or intensive care unit admission will be essential for reducing morbidity and mortality.
Patients with stable mental status, SpO2 ≥ 95%, respiratory rate < 25, heart rate (HR) < 120 and temperature 36°C – 39 °C are considered to have mild disease.
Oxygen therapy with target SpO2 ≥ 92% – 95% is likely to be the single most effective supportive measure in COVID-19 patients. All patients who develop ARDS need lung-protective ventilation strategies.
Where the patient has confirmed other pathogens, consider the following empiric treatment:
amoxicillin-clavulanate for community-acquired pneumonia pathogens
azithromycin for atypical pneumonia pathogens
Influenza management guidelines for severe influenza
co-trimoxazole for PJP.
To date, no specific treatment for COVID-19 has been found, but the following drugs are under investigation for inpatient clinical management:
hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine
lopinavir/ritonavir
remdesivir
IL-6 blockers.
The majority of cases recover fully with supportive care, although this may take several weeks. A minority of cases, particularly severe cases, progress to ARDS, multiple organ failure and sometimes even death.
This novel virus outbreak has challenged the public health infrastructure, and time alone will tell how the global emergence of this virus will impact our daily lives. COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease, and to prevent its community spread, primary care physicians have to have a high index of suspicion in patients presenting with respiratory symptoms. At the time of this writing, there is no approved treatment and vaccine. Infection prevention and control measure is an integral part of COVID-19 management. Primary health care providers must make every effort to curb this outbreak.
The authors have declared that they have no competing interests.
All authors contributed equally to this work.
This article followed all ethical standards for a research without direct contact with human or animal subjects.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.