Current epidemiological findings show that a minority of patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia present with symptoms of runny nose. While most patients present with fever, general malaise, and dry cough, none of them are characteristic and cannot be used as a basis for confirming the diagnosis of novel pneumonia. Instead, the clinical diagnosis of novel coronavirus pneumonia requires a combination of epidemiological exposure history, typical symptoms and signs, chest imaging and routine blood test results. After the initial identification of a suspected case on this basis, pathogenic examination of the suspected case is then performed, and only if the test results are positive is novel coronavirus infection confirmed.