Open AccessThe COVID-19 pandemic
Author(s) -
Julián Andrés Castillo Vargas
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
revista de la facultad de medicina
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.141
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 2357-3848
pISSN - 0120-0011
DOI - 10.15446/revfacmed.v68n1.86482
Subject(s) - pandemic , medicine , covid-19 , intensive care medicine , disease , coronavirus , infectious disease (medical specialty) , mortality rate , diabetes mellitus , obesity , intensive care unit , health care , emergency medicine , virology , outbreak , endocrinology , economic growth , economics
I open this note with some alarming figures: as of May 26, 2020, over 5 635 000 people have become infected and nearly 350 000 have died from the new coronavirus (COVID-19) worldwide.1 Meanwhile, in Colombia, there are already 21 981 people infected and 750 deaths from this disease, that is, a 3.4% mortality rate.2COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a new coronavirus strain. Most people infected with COVID-19 will develop a mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without the need for hospital care. However, the disease can significantly affect older people and those with underlying diseases such as diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, obesity, and cardiovasculardisease,3 and it could even lead to death, which undoubtedly places a burden on health systems, particularly on intensive care units (ICUs).