Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory tract that at the time of writing is responsible for a pandemic. The main symptoms include fever, coughing, being short of breath and loss or change in your sense of smell or taste. In most cases, it is a mild disease that lasts no longer than 2 weeks. However, it can cause severe illness, particularly in the elderly and those with a chronic medical condition. Complications include pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome which is life-threatening. The disease has only been identified recently, since around December 2019, and so we know little about the virus responsible (“severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2” – SARS-CoV-2), how it is transmitted or how it causes illness, although we do understand more about some other coronaviruses. Currently there is no specific anti-viral agent against SARS-CoV-2, and no vaccine is available in Western countries – although research into these is being carried out and vaccination against the disease may soon be possible. Handwashing, social-distancing and covering the mouth and nose, particularly when sneezing or coughing, help to reduce the spread of the disease. Isolation and quarantine, especially of affected people, as well as environmental disinfection are also important protective measures. The medical, social and economic impacts of the disease, and governments’ responses to it, have been enormous.