India, March 28 -- Builds on COVID-19 reference laboratory network established during early days of pandemic to confirm disease

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a global network of laboratories to identify and monitor potentially novel coronaviruses that could emerge shortly. Besides SARS-CoV-2, the new WHO Coronavirus Network, called CoViNet, will assess other coronaviruses, including MERS-CoV, with enhanced laboratory capacity.

The international agency widened its focus by building on its earlier collaboration with the WHO COVID-19 reference laboratory network, which was set up in January 2020 during the pandemic to confirm the disease.

The network will now have animal health and environmental surveillance and timely ...