What’s the difference between a cold and COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus)?

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What’s the difference between a cold and COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus)?

You might have heard that the common cold is a coronavirus. Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that can cause upper respiratory infections. While rhinoviruses cause most types of common cold, a few are caused by different coronaviruses. Most people recover quickly from these common colds.

Coronaviruses may also travel into the lungs and lead to pneumonia and other complications that can be fatal. A new (novel) type of coronavirus, discovered in late 2019, causes a specific disease known as COVID-19. Early symptoms that make COVID-19 different from the common cold include:

  • Fever.
  • Chills and shaking.
  • Shortness of breath.
  • Loss of taste or smell (anosmia).
  • Diarrhea.

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