. 2022 Feb 15;13:813358. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.813358

TABLE 2.

Different categories of disease severity during COVID-19 according to WHO guidelines.

COVID-19 condition	Definition
Critical Severe Non-severe	Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), septic infection, and even shock. It also involves other conditions that would normally require life-sustaining therapies like invasive/non-invasive mechanical ventilation or vasopressor therapy. 1. Oxygen saturation is less than 90% on room air. 2. Respiratory rate is greater than 30 breaths/min in adults and also in children of more than 5 years old, ≥ 60 breaths/min in infants of less than 2 months old, breaths/min ≥ 50 in infants of 2–11 months old, and breaths/min ≥ 40 in children of 1–5 years old 3. Respiratory distress includes the use of accessory muscle, inability to complete whole sentences; and in children, very severe chest walls indrawing, grumble, cyanosis, or other dangerous signs No signs of severe or critical conditions of COVID-19

COVID-19 condition

Definition

Critical Severe Non-severe

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), septic infection, and even shock. It also involves other conditions that would normally require life-sustaining therapies like invasive/non-invasive mechanical ventilation or vasopressor therapy.
1. Oxygen saturation is less than 90% on room air.
2. Respiratory rate is greater than 30 breaths/min in adults and also in children of more than 5 years old, ≥ 60 breaths/min in infants of less than 2 months old, breaths/min ≥ 50 in infants of 2–11 months old, and breaths/min ≥ 40 in children of 1–5 years old
3. Respiratory distress includes the use of accessory muscle, inability to complete whole sentences; and in children, very severe chest walls indrawing, grumble, cyanosis, or other dangerous signs
No signs of severe or critical conditions of COVID-19