Experts from the Russian sanitary watchdog’s Vector center have been briefed about a new coronavirus discovered in South Africa, named NeoCov, the center said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement specified:

Experts from the Vector research center are aware of the data that Chinese researchers obtained regarding the NeoCov coronavirus. At this time, it’s not about the emergence of a new coronavirus capable of actively spreading among humans.Chinese experts had just outlined potential risks that required further study.

Chinese researchers earlier detected a new type of coronavirus among bats in South Africa. According to reports, it is closely related to the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS) and can enter cells in a manner similar to that of SARS-CoV-2.