New Coronavirus Could Become a Chronic Illness, Says Expert

The novel coronavirus COVID-2019, which spread from China, could ultimately take on a chronic form and exist as an endemic influenza, says Wang Chen, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and expert in severe respiratory diseases.

"This is due to the highly infectious nature and characteristics of this virus. It has the tendency to appear suddenly and then disappear. The new type of coronavirus may adopt a chronic nature and exist for a long time as an endemic flu," Wang Chen stated. He emphasized that this is very likely, and people should be prepared for it.