APA Dictionary of Psychology

n. a member of the family Coronaviridae, a group of enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses characterized by spike-like surface projections that give the virion a crown-like appearance under electron microscopy. Coronaviruses infect humans and a wide range of animals and can cause respiratory, gastrointestinal, hepatic, and neurologic disease, with clinical severity ranging from mild, self-limited illness to severe and potentially fatal conditions.

Notable human coronaviruses include SARS-CoV, the cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) (outbreak in 2002–2003), MERS-CoV, which causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) (outbreak in 2012), and SARS-CoV-2, first identified in 2019 and responsible for COVID-19, a respiratory illness that triggered a global pandemic. COVID-19 was associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, major strain on health care systems, and widespread public health measures such as physical distancing policies, masking, and mass vaccination campaigns.

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