A team of scientists in Australia said on Wednesday they have successfully developed a lab-grown version of the new coronavirus, the first to be recreated outside of China, in a breakthrough that could help quicken the creation of a vaccine.
The researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne said they would share the sample, which was grown from an infected patient, with the World Health Organization and laboratories around the world.
"This is a step, it's a piece of the puzzle that we have contributed," Doherty Institute Deputy Director Mike Catton told reporters, while noting the development alone would not turn the tide in the battle against the virus.