Editorial: COVID-19: A Year Long and Beyond?

　　【财新网】

　　George F. Gao1

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　　In December 2019, a number of patients with pneumonia of unknown etiology (PUE) were reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province (1). The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by a virus also known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified by China in January 2020. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), and on March 11, it announced that COVID-19 could develop into a global pandemic (2-3). As of February 8, 2021, there had been 105,805,951 confirmed cases, 2,312,278 confirmed deaths, and 223 countries, areas or territories were effected (4).