Study finds bats carrying coronaviruses related to Covid-19 also found outside China

The three Rhinolophus species that have so far been shown to be carriers of coronaviruses linked to SARS-CoV-2 cannot be found in Singapore. - AFP

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Horseshoe bats carrying coronaviruses very similar to the one that causes Covid-19 have been found outside China, so the pandemic may not necessarily have originated in the country, say scientists in a new study.

It is likely that the virus arrived at the Chinese city of Wuhan from elsewhere, said Professor Wang Linfa from the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore and one of the study's co-authors.