Covid 19 is a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 that can trigger a respiratory tract infection. It is a type of coronavirus that was identified in December 2019. It spreads through person to person contact and droplets. It is a highly infectious virus that is impacting millions of people around the world and has been termed as a global pandemic
Viruses are constantly changing and mutating in their genetic makeup resulting in new strains or variants. The coronavirus too has mutated several times since the pandemic started. The variants may change the way the virus behaves. The variants are classified as alpha, beta, gamma, delta and omicron. Each variant can cause a wave as it spreads easily throughout the world. In 2021, the delta variant emerged and by the end of 2021, the omicron variant emerged.
The phases of how the COVID infection progresses are shown in the diagram below:
Community
