How does a virus have babies? (In the context of global pandemic of COVID-19)

To answer this question we should first ask, what is this thing we call 'life'? A living cell is essentially the result of a tightly regulated process of protein production from genes in a cell. DNA, which is the blueprint for protein formation, is first used to synthesize a less stable entity called RNA (RiboNucleic Acid), which is then used as a template to produce proteins. These proteins form different structures in the cell and carry out processes that keep the cell functioning. We call all this the 'machinery' of the living cell.

Viruses do not have any such machinery of their own! When a virus infects the host cell, it takes over the host’s cellular machinery (structures and processes in the cell that keep it alive). It manipulates the host cell's machinery so it produces more viral particles! How does the virus do this?

Once the virus enters the body, it first integrates its genetic material in the host’s DNA, therefore, making the host cell produce more viruses. COVID-19 is an RNA virus, which means it has RNA as its genetic material rather than DNA. Once it enters the cell, it first converts its RNA to a DNA form, which then integrates with the host DNA. This is called the ‘lysogenic cycle’ of the virus.