What is the coronavirus?

You’ll almost certainly have heard about coronavirus. It’s dominating the news, with everyone from Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp telling people to listen to advice from medical experts.

Coronavirus is a new flu-like virus spreading around the world. The virus causes an illness called Covid-19.

It has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, or WHO – that’s a part of the UN whose aim is to look after the health and wellbeing of people around the world.

A pandemic is a disease that is spreading in multiple countries around the world at the same time.

Although the number of people affected is relatively small, the new virus hadn’t been seen in humans until December 2019, so scientists are keen to limit its spread.

Like the cold and flu bugs we get in the UK, it can spread from person to person by coughing, or contact with contaminated surfaces or skin.

To read more about this and see some useful videos and tips follow the link to Newsround below.

NEWSROUND; Coronavirus: What is being done to tackle the virus?; 16 Mar 2020; https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/51204456