en Molecular Genetics & Genomics Molecular Genetics & Genomics نامه به سردبیر Letter to the Editor <strong>To the editor: </strong><br> Since the initial onset of the current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic from Wuhan, China in December 2019, the virus is now spread all around the world, and the disease is named COVID-19. Based on the WHO report on April 18, 2021, there are now more than 140 million confirmed cases and three millions deaths&nbsp;due to this disease. The virus pathogenesis,&nbsp;clinical features, and therapeutic approaches have comprehensively been reviewed. In addition, it has been indicated that patients&#39; medical background and the age factor are associated with the mortality rate. Regardless of the clinical presentations and the disease mortality, the mental effects of the current pandemic among medical staff and the general population are critically important, and the pandemic might trigger stress, anxiety, and depression........ COVID19, Mutation, ORF8 308 309 http://ibj.pasteur.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-2127-3&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Alireza Tabibzadeh alireza.tabibzadeh@outlook.com 0000-0003-0070-2208 No Department of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Maryam Esghaei 0000-0003-2944-2147 No Department of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Farhad Zamani 0000-0001-6162-9417 No Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Saber Soltani 0000-0003-3369-0856 No Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Parastoo Yousefi 0000-0001-8284-903X No Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Mohammad Hadi Karbalaie Niya 0000-0002-1364-5743 Yes Department of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran