Dhaka, Feb. 22 -- A newly discovered bat coronavirus uses the same cell-surface protein to gain entry into human cells as the SARS-CoV-2

Virus that causes COVID-19, raising the possibility that it could someday spread to humans, Chinese researchers have reported, reports bdnews24.com.

The virus does not enter human cells as readily as SARS-CoV-2 does, the Chinese researchers reported in the journal Cell, noting some of its limitations.

The scientists said that like SARS-CoV-2, the bat virus HKU5-CoV-2 contains a feature known as the furin cleavage site that helps it to enter cells via the ACE2 receptor protein on cell surfaces.

In lab experiments, HKU5-CoV-2 infected human cells with high ACE2 levels in test tubes and in models of hum...