Claim: Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is no more dangerous than the common cold, and it's being blown out of proportion to make the President of the United States look bad.
Verdict: REFUTES

Retrieved passages:
title: Coronavirus
text: 1960s from the nasal cavities of patients with the common cold. These viruses were subsequently named human coronavirus 229E and human coronavirus OC43. Two further members of this family have been identified (HCoV NL63 in 2004 and HKU1 in 2005) and they have been involved in more serious respiratory tract infections. Coronaviruses primarily infect the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tract of mammals and birds. Six different currently known strains of coronaviruses infect humans. Coronaviruses are believed to cause a significant percentage of all common colds in human adults and children. Coronaviruses cause colds with major symptoms, e.g. fever, throat congestion

title: 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak
text: coronavirus researcher at the Erasmus Medical Center (EMC) in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The second laboratory-proven case was in London, confirmed by the UK Health Protection Agency (HPA). The HPA named the virus the London1_novel CoV 2012. On 8 November 2012, in an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Zaki and co-authors from the Erasmus Medical Center published more details, including a scientific name, Human Coronavirus-Erasmus Medical Center (HCoV-EMC), which was then used in scientific literature. In the article, they noted four respiratory human coronaviruses (HCoV) known to be endemic: 229E, OC43, NL63, and HKU1. In May

title: London1 novel CoV/2012
text: virus nucleic acid fragment identified in the isolate from the Qatai-London patient is derived from a novel coronavirus that is distinct from all coronaviruses previously identified. London1 novel CoV/2012 London1_novel CoV/2012 is the name of the novel coronavirus isolated from a Qatari man in London in 2012 who was one of the first patients to come down with what has since been named Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. The Qatari patient had traveled to Saudi Arabia from Qatar. He returned to Qatar, but when he fell ill, he traveled to London for treatment. The United Kingdom's Health Protection Agency (HPA)

title: Human coronavirus OC43
text: 1950s. Genotype B and C date to the 1980s. Genotype B to the 1990s, and genotype C to the late 1990s to early 2000s. The recombinant genotype D strains were detected as early as 2004. Along with HCoV-229E, a species in the Alphacoronavirus genus, HCoV-OC43 are among the known viruses that cause the common cold. Both viruses can cause severe lower respiratory tract infections, including pneumonia in infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals such as those undergoing chemotherapy and those with HIV-AIDS. Coronaviruses have a worldwide distribution, causing 10–15% of common cold cases. Infections show a seasonal pattern with most

title: 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak
text: of unknown origin. Of the six, two died. All the cases were reported to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). After the September identification of a novel CoV strain, a retroactive analysis of the hospital workers was performed. Epidemiologists discovered the Jordan cases. Using stored laboratory samples for all six, it was found that samples from the two patients who had died tested positive for nCoV. On 24 April 2014, a 25-year-old male was found positive for the coronavirus. He had history of exposure to camels and had consumed camel milk. The Ministry of Health and Medical

title: Coronavirus
text: and adenoids, in humans primarily in the winter and early spring seasons. Coronaviruses can cause pneumonia, either direct viral pneumonia or a secondary bacterial pneumonia, and bronchitis, either direct viral bronchitis or a secondary bacterial bronchitis. The much publicized human coronavirus discovered in 2003, SARS-CoV which causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), has a unique pathogenesis because it causes both upper and lower respiratory tract infections. The significance and economic impact of coronaviruses as causative agents of the common cold are hard to assess because, unlike rhinoviruses (another common cold virus), human coronaviruses are difficult to grow in the laboratory.

title: Human coronavirus 229E
text: HCoV-OC43, and HCoV-HKU1 and are globally distributed. However, the four viruses are detected in different parts of the world at different times of the year. Human coronavirus 229E Human coronavirus 229E is a single-stranded, positive-sense, RNA virus species in the genus "Alphacoronavirus" of the subfamily "Coronavirinae", in the family "Coronaviridae", of the order "Nidovirales". Along with Human coronavirus OC43, it is responsible for the common cold. HCoV-229E transmits via droplet-respiration and fomites. HCoV-229E is associated with a range of respiratory symptoms, ranging from the common cold to high-morbidity outcomes such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis. It is also among the Coronaviruses

title: Human coronavirus 229E
text: Human coronavirus 229E Human coronavirus 229E is a single-stranded, positive-sense, RNA virus species in the genus "Alphacoronavirus" of the subfamily "Coronavirinae", in the family "Coronaviridae", of the order "Nidovirales". Along with Human coronavirus OC43, it is responsible for the common cold. HCoV-229E transmits via droplet-respiration and fomites. HCoV-229E is associated with a range of respiratory symptoms, ranging from the common cold to high-morbidity outcomes such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis. It is also among the Coronaviruses most frequently codetected with other respiratory viruses, particularly with Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV). HCoV-229E is one of the four human coronaviruses which include HCoV-NL63,

title: London1 novel CoV/2012
text: London1 novel CoV/2012 London1_novel CoV/2012 is the name of the novel coronavirus isolated from a Qatari man in London in 2012 who was one of the first patients to come down with what has since been named Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. The Qatari patient had traveled to Saudi Arabia from Qatar. He returned to Qatar, but when he fell ill, he traveled to London for treatment. The United Kingdom's Health Protection Agency (HPA) named the virus. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that London1 is a betacoronavirus with a close relationship to Bat coronaviruses HKU4 and HKU5. It was found that the

title: Coronavirus
text: of a vaccine against the disease "since [the spike protein] appears to be recognized by the immune system of the host." Following the high-profile publicity of SARS outbreaks, there has been a renewed interest in coronaviruses among virologists. For many years, scientists knew about only two human coronaviruses (HCoV-229E and HCoV-OC43). The discovery of SARS-CoV added a third human coronavirus. By the end of 2004, three independent research labs reported the discovery of a fourth human coronavirus. It has been named NL63, NL, and the New Haven coronavirus by different research groups. The three labs are still arguing over which

title: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
text: media as data sources as part of HealthMap MERS. Lastly, South Korea was infected recently. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus The Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), or EMC/2012 (HCoV-EMC/2012), is a novel positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus of the genus Betacoronavirus. Initially called novel coronavirus 2012 or simply novel coronavirus, it was first reported in 2012 after genome sequencing of a virus isolated from sputum samples from a person who fell ill in a 2012 outbreak of a new flu. As of July 2015, MERS-CoV cases have been reported in over 21 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, the

title: Coronavirus
text: in a small number of nucleotides. In 2003, following the outbreak of Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which had begun the prior year in Asia, and secondary cases elsewhere in the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a press release stating that a novel coronavirus identified by a number of laboratories was the causative agent for SARS. The virus was officially named the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). The epidemic resulted in over 8,000 infections, about 10% of which resulted in death. X-ray crystallography studies performed at the Advanced Light Source of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have begun to give hope

title: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
text: similar cases appeared in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Additional cases were noted, with deaths associated, and rapid research and monitoring of this novel coronavirus began. It is not certain whether the infections are the result of a single zoonotic event with subsequent human-to-human transmission, or if the multiple geographic sites of infection represent multiple zoonotic events from a common unknown source. A study by Ziad Memish of Riyadh University and colleagues suggests that the virus arose sometime between July 2007 and June 2012, with perhaps as many as 7 separate zoonotic transmissions. Among animal reservoirs, CoV has a large genetic

title: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
text: Kingdom, South Korea, the United States, Mainland China, Thailand, and the Philippines. MERS-CoV is one of several viruses identified by WHO as a likely cause of a future epidemic. They list it for urgent research and development. The virus MERS-CoV is a new member of the beta group of coronavirus, "Betacoronavirus", lineage C. MERS-CoV genomes are phylogenetically classified into two clades, clade A and B. The earliest cases of MERS were of clade A clusters (EMC/2012 and Jordan-N3/2012), and new cases are genetically distinct (clade B). MERS-CoV is distinct from SARS coronavirus and distinct from the common-cold coronavirus and known

title: Human coronavirus NL63
text: reported the most common symptoms to be fever, cough, rhinitis, sore throat, hoarseness, bronchitis, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, and croup. An early study investigating children with lower respiratory tract illness, found that HCoV-NL63 was more commonly found in outpatients than hospitalized patients, suggesting that it is a common cold virus similar to HCoV-229E and HCoV-OC43, which generally cause less severe symptoms. However, the high frequency of croup is specific to HCoV-NL63 infection. It is believed that the route of HCoV-NL63 spread is through direct person-to-person transmission in highly populated areas. The virus can survive for up to a week in outside of

title: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
text: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus The Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), or EMC/2012 (HCoV-EMC/2012), is a novel positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus of the genus Betacoronavirus. Initially called novel coronavirus 2012 or simply novel coronavirus, it was first reported in 2012 after genome sequencing of a virus isolated from sputum samples from a person who fell ill in a 2012 outbreak of a new flu. As of July 2015, MERS-CoV cases have been reported in over 21 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Turkey, Oman, Algeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia (none were confirmed), Austria, the United

title: Coronavirus
text: one discovered the virus first and has the right to name it. Early in 2005, a research team at the University of Hong Kong reported finding a fifth human coronavirus in two patients with pneumonia. They named it Human coronavirus HKU1. In September 2012, a sixth new type of coronavirus was identified, initially called Novel Coronavirus 2012, and now officially Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The World Health Organisation accordingly issued a global alert. The WHO update on 28 September 2012 said that the virus did not seem to pass easily from person to person. However, on May 12,

title: Common Cold Unit
text: of bounds. Human coronaviruses, which are responsible for about 10% of common colds, were first isolated from volunteers at the unit in 1965. The CCU continually recruited volunteers for research into the common cold until its closure in 1989. The CCU was sometimes confused with the Microbiological Research Establishment at nearby Porton Down, with which it occasionally collaborated but was not officially connected. Common Cold Unit Thirty volunteers were required every fortnight during trial periods. The unit advertised in newspapers and magazines for volunteers, who were paid a small amount. A stay at the unit was presented in these advertisements

title: Middle East respiratory syndrome
text: pneumonia and acute renal failure. After routine diagnostics failed to identify the causative agent, Zaki contacted Ron Fouchier, a leading virologist at the Erasmus Medical Center (EMC) in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for advice. Fouchier sequenced the virus from a sample sent by Zaki. Fouchier used a broad-spectrum "pan-coronavirus" real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method to test for distinguishing features of a number of known coronaviruses (such as OC43, 229R, NL63, and SARS-CoV), as well as for RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), a gene conserved in all coronaviruses known to infect humans. While the screens for known coronaviruses were all negative, the

title: Coronavirinae
text: Coronavirinae Coronavirinae is one of two subfamilies in the family Coronaviridae. It is subdivided into the genera alphacoronavirus, betacoronavirus, gammacoronavirus, and deltacoronavirus. These include phylogenetically compact genogroups of enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA and with a nucleocapsid of helical symmetry. The genomic size of coronaviruses ranges from approximately 26 to 32 kilobases, extraordinarily large for an RNA virus. Their numbers are growing rapidly with several novel coronaviruses being recently discovered including Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus MERS-CoV discovered in 2012. The genus alphacoronavirus (formerly known as Coronavirus group 1 (CoV-1)) includes subgroups 1a and 1b, which are prototyped by human coronavirus