LAUSR

On 31st December 2019, China reported that several cases of pneumonia of unknown origin had occurred in Wuhan (Hubei Province), the cause of which was identified on 7th January 2020: a new coronavirus initially named 2019 novel coronavirus (2019nCoV). On 11th February, the World Health Organization (WHO) renamed the new virus SARS-CoV-2 due to the similarities between the cause of the severe acute respiratory syndrome that broke out in 2003 and COVID-19 (Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019).1 On 30th January, WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Interest, and a pandemic on 11th March. As of 21st March 2020, 311,314 cases have been reported in 188 affected countries, with 13,079 deaths as a result of the infection and 95,800 people recovered (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/). The statistics probably reflect a bias toward the most serious cases, which have more contact with the health system. However, many cases may be undiagnosed, as they are asymptomatic patients who do not go to a health center or mild symptomatology cases that are not confirmed due to the limited availability of diagnostic tests in many countries, such as Spain. Therefore, these statistics are likely to underestimate mild and asymptomatic cases, with the pandemic having a higher prevalence.2 COVID-19 infection can develop as a mild, moderate, or severe illness, including severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), sepsis, and septic shock. The incubation period ranges from about 5 days (interval: 4–7 days) to a maximum of