coronaviruses

Noun

coronavirus (countable and uncountable, plural coronaviruses)

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.
   • A new group of viruses with the name of coronaviruses has been recognized by an informal group of virologists who have sent their conclusions to Nature. […] In the opinion of the eight virologists these viruses are members of a previously unrecognized group which they suggest should be called the...[1968 November 16, “Virology: Coronaviruses”, in Nature, volume 220, number 5168, page 650
   1. (often the intended sense) 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 March 6, “First UK death from coronavirus confirmed as cases surge to 116”, in The Guardian
2. (metonymically) An illness caused by a coronavirus.
   1. (metonymically) COVID-19, the disease caused by the specific coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.