Experiments performed with ex vivo freshly isolated monocytes showed that unstimulated monocytes from patients with COVID-19 were able to spontaneously secrete high levels of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-1β (Fig. 7a–c) which persisted, even though at lower levels, in recovered individuals for several weeks after recovery (Fig. 7a–c). Here, IL1B is linked to COVID-19.