COVID-19, a UK perspective

European Journal of Emergency Medicine

Sriskandar, Joanna; Bloom, Benjamin.

Introduction

On 31 December 2019, the WHO was informed of new cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology. On 7 January 2020, a novel coronavirus was identified as the cause of the pneumonia. The organism has subsequently been named SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes COVID-19 [1]. By 22 January, Public Health England (PHE) published its first news report on the novel virus. On the 23 January 2020, the Emergency Department (ED) at Royal London Hospital swabbed its first potential COVID-19 patient. As of 9 March, in the UK, 24 641 people have tested negative, 319 tested positive and three people have died and were positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Keywords

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Treatment