Could artificial intelligence have predicted the COVID-19 coronavirus?

The use of artificial intelligence is now the norm in many industries, from integrating the technology in autonomous vehicles for safety, to AI algorithms being used to improve advertising campaigns. But, by using it in healthcare, could it also help us predict the outbreak of a virus such as the COVID-19 coronavirus? Since the first cases were seen at the end of December 2019, coronavirus has spread from Wuhan, China, to 34 countries around the world, with more than 80,000 cases recorded. A hospital was built in 10 days to provide the 1,000 beds needed for those who had fallen victim to the virus in Wuhan – 97 per cent of cases reported are in China. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the world should prepare for a global coronavirus pandemic.