COVID-19 manifests regarding extreme acute respiratory conditions caused by a novel beta coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) which is reported to be the seventh coronavirus to infect humans. Like other SARS-CoVs it has a large positive-stranded RNA genome. But specific furin site in the spike protein, mutation prone and phylogenetically mess Orf1ab separates SARS-CoV-2 from other RNA viruses. Since, the outbreak (February - March 2020) which originated in China, researchers, scientists, and medical professionals are inspecting all possible facts from every possible aspects including its replication, detection and prevention strategies. This led to the prompt identification of its basic biology, genome characterization, structural based functional information of proteins and strategies to prevent its spread. Due to rapid mutation rate, functional characterization of few proteins is still lagging. This review summarizes the recent updates on basic molecular biology of SARS-CoV-2 and prevention strategies undertaken worldwide to tackle COVID-19. This recent information can be implemented for the development and designing of therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2.