What do I need to know about the coronavirus?

The coronavirus is a highly infectious virus. You can easily catch it from other people or pass it on to them.

The major symptoms are:

• cough
• shortness of breath
• fever
• muscle pain
• fatigue
• loss of sense of smell and taste
• stuffy nose
• sore throat
• diarrhoea

Some people can have the virus without any symptoms.

When you cough or sneeze, small droplets fly in the air. Most infections occur through prolonged close contact (more than 15 minutes at less than 1.5m). Some microdrops can remain in the air for a long time and under certain circumstances also infect people at more than 1.5m. Indirect infections can also be caused by contact with infected droplets on objects and surfaces (e.g. door handles).

How do you get infected? By breathing in these droplets or if they reach your mouth, nose or eyes via your hands.