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Are viruses alive?
A virus is a biological particle that can only reproduce inside the cells of living hosts. Based on biologist’s current definition of “Life”, viruses are not living organisms. It is mainly because viruses cannot live by themselves.
What is COVID-19?
COVID-19 means “coronavirus disease 2019”. COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that has not been previously identified.
Why are people so afraid of COVID-19?
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person. We are so afraid of these new viruses because no one had ever encountered them nor had immunity to defend them. Drug treatments and vaccines are not available at this time and may need time (3 months to one year) to develop and test.
Can someone spread the virus without being sick?
Patients with mild or no symptoms (asymptomatic carriers) can still spread their viruses. Sometimes, they do not even notice they are infected because the incubation time of the COVID-19 could be 1-14 days.
