Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, these viruses cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses include some cases of the common cold (which is also caused by other viruses, predominantly rhinoviruses), while more lethal varieties can cause SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. Symptoms in other species vary: in chickens, they cause an upper respiratory tract disease, while in cows and pigs they cause diarrhoea. There are as yet no vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent or treat human coronavirus infections. Coronaviruses constitute the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae, in the family Coronaviridae, order Nidovirales, and realm Riboviria. https://www.iomcworld.org/They are enveloped viruses with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome and a nucleocapsid of helical symmetry.The genome size of coronaviruses ranges from approximately 26 to 32 kilogauss, one of the largest among RNA viruses. They have characteristic club-shaped spikes that project from their surface, which in electron micrographs create an image reminiscent of the solar corona, from which their name derives.The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the French overseas department and region of French Guiana. The first five cases were found on 4 March and the first death was announced on 20 April 2020. On 30 April, the territory was green listed, because the pandemic appeared to be under control except for St-Georges de l'Oyapock. In June, the virus started circulating all over the territory.

On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.