Without modern medical management and vaccines, the severity of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS) coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) might approach the magnitude of 1894-plague (12 million deaths) and 1918-A(H1N1) influenza (50 million deaths) pandemics. The COVID-19 pandemic was heralded by the 2003 SARS epidemic which led to the discovery of human and civet SARS-CoV-1, bat SARS-related-CoVs, Middle East respiratory syndrome(MERS)-related bat CoV HKU4 and HKU5, and other novel animal coronaviruses. The suspected animal-to-human jumping of 4 betacoronaviruses including the human coronaviruses OC43(1890), SARS-CoV-1(2003), MERS-CoV(2012), and SARS-CoV-2(2019) indicates their significant pandemic potential. The presence of a large reservoir of coronaviruses in bats and other wild mammals, culture of mixing and selling them in urban markets with suboptimal hygiene, habit of eating exotic mammals in highly populated areas, and the rapid and frequent air traffic from these areas are perfect ingredients for brewing rapidly exploding epidemics. The possibility of emergence of a hypothetical SARS-CoV-3 or other novel viruses from animals or laboratories, and therefore needs for global preparedness should not be ignored. We reviewed representative publications on the epidemiology, virology, clinical manifestations, pathology, laboratory diagnostics, treatment, vaccination and infection control of COVID-19 as of 20 January 2021, which is one year after person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 was announced. The difficulties of mass testing, labour-intensive contact tracing, importance of compliance to universal masking, low efficacy of antiviral treatment for severe disease, possibilities of vaccine or antiviral-resistant virus variants and SARS-CoV-2 becoming another common cold coronavirus are discussed. The chronology of the pandemic An outbreak of acute community-acquired atypical pneumonia of unknown aetiology was reported in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in central China, in December 2019. The initial cluster of cases was related to the Huanan seafood wholesale market where wild game animals were also sold (1). During subsequent investigation, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detected in 33 out of 585 environmental samples taken from the market (2). However, 45% of the cases with onset before 1 January 2020 had no apparent link to this market (3). Retrospective molecular clock inference studies using phylogenetic analysis suggested that the earliest cases likely emerged between October and November 2019 (4, 5). The culprit virus was identified using next-generation sequencing on bronchoalveolar lavage fluids of three Wuhan patients (6). The complete genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 clustered in a distinct clade from SARS-CoV within the genus Sarbecovirus. The draft genome sequence was released on 10 Jan 2020, 10 days after the outbreak was announced. As an escalating number of local cases was reported in Wuhan, a f...