Since it was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the novel coronavirus has rapidly spread worldwide [1]. To date it has infected more than 83 000 individuals, and in the past week has made inroads into Europe [2,3]. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern and on February 11, 2020 named the virus COVID-19 [3].