Coronaviruses (CoVs) infect humans and animals. In humans, CoVs cause primarily multiple respiratory and intestinal infections that can range from mild to lethal. 1 ,  2 ,  3  According to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), CoVs constitute the family Coronaviridae under the order Nidovirales. Coronaviridae comprise two subfamilies, Torovirinae and Coronavirinae, the latter being further divided into four main genera: α‐, β‐, γ‐, and δ‐coronaviruses (Figure 1). 4  The history of human CoVs began in the 1930s, but only in the 1960s, the first human CoVs were identified in patients with mild respiratory infections, which were later named HCoV‐229E and HCoV‐OC43, belonging to α‐coronaviruses. 5 ,  6 ,  7  Since then, virologists have discovered new viruses, studying their infection mechanisms, as well as their replication, and pathogenesis. This led to the identification of five novel CoVs belonging to β‐coronaviruses that have crossed the species barrier to infect humans: HCoV‐Hong Kong University 1 (HKU1), HCoV‐NL63, severe‐acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)‐CoV‐1, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)‐CoV, and SARS‐CoV‐2 (COVID‐19).