https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/summary.html
https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
What is the virus?
Large family of viruses, the one that is killing everybody is the novel coronavirus, it is one that hasn’t come up yet. Other types of severe coronavirus are Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), but it can also be something like the common cold. They are zoonotic, which means they are transmitted between animals and humans. There are several coronaviruses that are circulating between animals that haven’t infected humans yet, but there are also probably many that humans don’t know about yet that exist. The virus that causes the disease is called SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes is called the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19. This virus is a betacoronavirus and has its origin in bats.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/256521#definition
Why is it called COVID-19/coronavirus?
“CO” is for corona, “VI” is for virus, and “D” is for disease. “19” is for 2019 which is the year it was first contracted. The naming is based on the best practice for naming new human infectious diseases. It is called coronavirus because of the crown-like projection on their surface which gives it the name “corona”. Also, because Coronaviruses belong to the subfamily Coronavirinae in the family Coronaviridae and often cause the common cold.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-as-they-happen
How, where, and when did COVID-19 start?
On 12/3/2019, the World Health Organization got reports of people getting Pneumonia with an unknown cause in Wuhan, China. Some of the patients were vendors at the Huanan seafood market, and they probably contracted it from an animal there.
https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-as-they-happen
How did the virus spread?
Once it was found in Wuhan it spread within China, until the first case outside of China was reported 1/13/2020. It was found in Thailand. Then cases were reported in Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Singapore. It also soon spread to Italy and the rest of Europe. The coronavirus has also spread to Iran, Germany, Spain, France, US, Switzerland, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, and many other countries. In total, there have been 98,243 cases of COVID-19 (as of 3/5/2020).