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A new coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in late December 2019, as causing a cluster of cases of an acute respiratory disease, now referred to as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which had been identified in December 2019. According to the media report, more than 187 countries and territories have been affected, with major outbreaks in central China, Italy, South Korea and Iran.
The virus is spread between people primarily via respiratory droplets produced during coughing. These droplets can also be produced from sneezing and normal exhalation, and the virus may spread from touching contaminated surfaces and then touching one's face. It is most contagious when people are symptomatic, although spread may be possible before symptoms appear. The time between exposure and symptom onset is typically around five days, but may range from two to fourteen days. Common symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Complications may include pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Primary treatment is symptomatic and supportive therapy. Recommended preventive measures include hand washing, covering the mouth when coughing, maintaining distance from other people, and monitoring and self-isolation for people who suspect they are infected.
Efforts to prevent the virus spreading include travel restrictions, quarantines, curfews, event postponements and cancellations, and facility closures. These include a quarantine of Hubei, nationwide quarantines in Italy and elsewhere in Europe, curfew measures elsewhere in China and South Korea, Philippines various border closures or incoming passenger restrictions, screening at airports and train stations, and travel advisories regarding regions with community transmission. Schools and universities have closed either on a nationwide or local basis in at least 115 countries, affecting more than 1.2 billion students.
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the spread of COVID-19 as a pandemic.
A pandemic is a disease epidemic that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents, or worldwide. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of infected people is not a pandemic. Further, flu pandemics generally exclude recurrences of seasonal flu. Throughout history, there have been a number of pandemics of diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis. One of the most devastating pandemics was the Black Death, which killed an estimated 75–200 million people in the 14th century. Current pandemics include HIV/AIDS and the 2019 coronavirus disease. Other notable pandemics include the 1918 influenza pandemic (Spanish flu) and the 2009 flu pandemic (H1N1).
Cholera, bubonic plague, smallpox, and influenza are some of the most brutal killers in human history. And outbreaks of these diseases across international borders, are properly defined as pandemic, especially smallpox, which throughout history, has killed between 300-500 million people in its 12,000 year existence.

The diseases and pandemics by death toll :
Black Death (Bubonic Plague) - 200 million dead
New World Smallpox Outbreak - 56 million dead
Spanish Flu - 40-50 million dead
Plague of Justinian - 30-50 million dead
HIV/AIDS - 25-35 million dead
Third Plague - 12 million dead
Antonine Plague - 5 million dead
17th Century Great Plagues - 3 million dead
Asian Flu - 1.1 million dead Russian Flu - 1 million dead
Cholera Pandemics 1-6 - 1 million dead
Japanese Smallpox epidemic - 1 million dead
Hong Kong Flu - 1 million dead
18th Century Great Plagues - 600 thousand dead
Swine Flu - 200 thousand dead
Yellow Fever - 100-150 thousand dead
Ebola - 11.3 thousand dead
COVID-19 - 9,000 (as of March 19)
MERS - 850 dead
SARS - 770 dead
The most recent outbreak of the Ebola virus, which has killed thousands of people, is still confined to West Africa. It may someday be pandemic, but for now, is considered an epidemic. Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness affecting humans and other primates.