Upper airway symptoms in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

According to a very large case series from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (72,314 cases, updated through February 11, 2020), more than 80% of COVID-19 cases presented mild symptoms [1]. [...]the standard for detection of SARS-CoV-2 are real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assays collected by nasal and oropharyngeal swabs, meaning that virus load in these sites should be high [7]. The American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery [21], the Confederation of European Otorhinolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery [22], the British Association of Otorhinolaryngology [23], the French [24] and Italian [25] ENT societies have already published recommendations for the use of PPE during upper airways examinations, endoscopy, or during surgical interventions (e.g. tracheostomy).Declaration of competing interest and source of funding The authors have nothing to declare.