The new coronavirus and the risk to children's health

Abstract

Since December 2019, an epidemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) occurred unexpectedly in Wuhan, Hubei province, China and quickly spread from Wuhan to other areas of China and other countries. The World Health Organization named this new coronavirus disease COVID-19, resulting from the combination of the words Corona, Viruses and Disease, with an indication of the year 2019, the year of its appearance. The General Directorate of Health of Portugal states that the transmission of COVID-19 can occur through respiratory droplets, direct contact with respiratory secretions, infected feces or contaminated surfaces and by air, through aerosol generators (1) .