 Remember that what we know about the virus is yet limited, and might change in the future. What is a coronavirus? The novel coronavirus is a member of the whole family of coronaviruses that cause disease in humans and animals. The term coronavirus is derived from the Latin form corona, which means crown, and refers to the chronic spikes seen on their surface with electron microscopy. Coronavirus also refers to the COVID-19 with sco and vye for coronavirus, D for disease and 19 for the year when the disease emerged. Coronaviruses are common in animals such as camels, seabed cats or bats, and they sometimes can involve into forms that can infect humans. For instance, the two most well-known cases of coronavirus epidemics were the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2002 in China, and the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. As of today, experts identified several types of coronaviruses that affect humans, in which symptoms may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure. What are the symptoms of someone infected with the COVID-19? The novel coronavirus is highly contagious, which means it spreads easily from person to person. The severity of COVID-19 symptoms can range from very mild to severe. Those who are infected may have little to no symptoms. Approximately 80% of infected people experience a mild case, such as a regular cold, and recover without any treatment. According to the World Health Organization, the most common symptoms are fever, tiredness and a dry cough. The virus can be more serious in some other people, and may lead to difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, kidney failure and illnesses like pneumonia or bronchitis. In severe cases, infection can lead to death. Older adults, pregnant women and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions may be at higher risk for more serious complications. What can you do to prevent yourself and others from getting coronavirus? Here is a synthesis of useful tips and advice you can apply depending on your situation. While you may have heard of this recommendation on social media, radio and television, as a psychologist I would like to draw your attention on a particular point that is social distancing. What is it exactly? Social distancing means keeping a physical distance from others intended to stop or slow down the spread of a contagious disease. The aim of this is to allow the healthcare system to more readily care for patients over time. In this context, a number of social distancing rules emerge, such as asking people to stay at home, avoid public gatherings and reduce general contact with others. However, there is often a confusion between social distancing and physical distancing. Dr. Jain Alzaki, director of the Stanford Social Nurse Science Laboratory, wrote that instead of social distancing, we should practice distance socializing. According to him, all of these social distancing rules are vital, but they also push against our deep instincts for togetherness and can worsen our emotional well-being during already trying times. Specifically, when people isolate themselves, they are cutting themselves off from the nourishment and support of others. Studies demonstrate that isolation is associated with sleeplessness, depression, anxiety, poor well-being and suicide risk. On the contrary, research has also evidenced that human interconnectedness and social support are key drivers when facing threats and stressful situations and increase emotional well-being. How to survive social distancing? We all know that the outbreak of the coronavirus may be stressful for some people. We are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic with important consequences such as an exponential increase in infected people and mortality rates, entire countries shutting down and tremendous amount of disturbing information and misinformation spread in the media. In this uncertain context, it is normal for some people to experience unpleasant emotions such as stress, fear and anxiety. Moreover, if these people are physically and socially self-isolated, those negative emotions can be amplified. So can we cope with coronavirus-induced negative emotions by connecting with each other? Considering that the virus has no barriers and will keep damaging human beings, an effective fight against this disease requires a collective awareness that this epidemic is everyone's responsibility and that we can only get out of it together. In some, physical distancing is vital at the moment, but so is social connectedness. Social media platforms are excellent tools to stay connected together in order to build a virtual but strong social link between humans. Undoubtedly, it is only together as a community that we can and we will win this fight.