The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the 2019 novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2 .
The 2019 novel coronavirus ( provisionally named 2019-nCoV ) , officially designated as SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses , informally known as the Wuhan coronavirus , is a contagious virus that causes 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease ( COVID-19 ) , a respiratory infection .
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2