coronavirus

noun4

1. •
   A member of the family Coronaviridae, comprising viruses which infect animals and human beings, and the genome of which consists of a single strand of RNA.

   • This characteristic structural resemblance and other shared properties of these viruses have caused certain virologists to propose the name coronavirus for this previously unrecognized group. — 1969
2. •
   SARS-CoV-2, the specific coronavirus that causes the infectious disease COVID-19.

   • A woman in her 70s was confirmed as the first coronavirus death in the UK on Thursday as Downing Street warned that it was now highly likely that the virus would spread in “a significant way”. — 2020
3. •
   An illness caused by a coronavirus.
4. •
   COVID-19, the disease caused by the specific coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.