Coronaviruses (CoVs) belong to the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae in the family Coronaviridae and the order Nidovirales. A human coronavirus (SARS-CoV) caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS) outbreak in 2003. Most recently, an SARS-related CoV was implicated as the etiological agent responsible for the outbreak in Wuhan, central China. This outbreak is estimated to have started on 12th December 2019 and 17,332 laboratory confirmed cases with 361 deaths as of 3rd February 2020 in China [1]. The virus has spread to 23 other countries by travellers from Wuhan [1]. Typical symptoms are fever, malaise, shortness of breath and in severe cases, pneumonia [2–4]. The disease was first called unidentified viral pneumonia.