The origin of the novel coronavirus is not yet known. Novel coronaviruses belong to the beta genus of coronaviruses. Coronaviruses infect only vertebrates and can cause a variety of diseases of the respiratory, digestive and nervous systems in both humans and animals. Among them, coronaviruses of genus β mainly infect bats, pigs, dogs, cats, rats, cattle and other mammals. Viruses, like all living organisms, have the ability to inherit, mutate, and evolve, and they can mutate and spread across species, causing direct human infections and leading to the emergence of new viruses with pathogenic potential. The current novel coronavirus, for which human-to-human transmission can be identified, is transmitted mainly by airborne droplet transmission and contact.