Answer:
FACT COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which is part of a large family of viruses that can lead to respiratory infections in both humans and animals. These infections can range from the common cold to more serious illness. COVID-19 is spread between people by droplets and via contaminated surfaces.
Multiple scientific studies across the world demonstrate that highly reputable expert laboratories have isolated and sequenced the virus that causes COVID-19, demonstrating that the virus exists, that it is different from the influenza virus, and that it causes a disease that has resulted in more than four million deaths worldwide in just over 18 months.
In Australia, the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, was one of the first laboratories to isolate SARS-CoV-2. VIDRL shared the isolated virus with other Australian laboratories, the World Health Organization and other countries, to enable the development, validation and verification of diagnostic tests for COVID-19.
