Chinese researchers find new batch of coronaviruses in bats, close to COVID-19: Report

Chinese researchers claim to have discovered a new batch of coronaviruses in bats which includes one that maybe genetically the second-closest thing to COVID-19 virus. The new research surfaces even as the origins of SARS-CoV-2 is being probed.

New Delhi: Chinese researchers claim to have discovered a new batch of coronaviruses in bats which includes one that maybe genetically the second-closest thing to COVID-19 virus. The new research surfaces even as the origins of SARS-CoV-2 is being probed. The research is being conducted by Weifeng Shi of the University of Shandong and his colleagues in a single, small region of Yunnan province, southwestern China, CNN reported. As per a journal published in the Cell, the group assembled 24 novel coronavirus genomes from different bat species, including four SARS-CoV-2 like coronaviruses.