On Monday, October 26, 2020, 03:25:41 AM PDT, grarpamp
   <grarpamp@gmail.com> wrote:

   [1]https://nerdhaspower.weebly.com/ratg13-is-fake.html
   Full disclosure:  While I consider myself conversant with many sciences
   and technologies, 'biology' is probably my area of least knowledge.
   I rapidly skimmed this article, but was doubtful when I saw this:
   > "RaTG13 looks like a “close cousin” of the Wuhan coronavirus – the
   two are 96% identical throughout the whole sequence of the viral
   genome. If RaTG13 is a nature-borne virus, one can comfortably conclude
   that the Wuhan coronavirus must very likely also come from nature and
   must share a recent common ancestor with RaTG13."
   [end of quote]
   My impression is  that if two viruses are ONLY "96% identical"
   "throughout the whole sequence of the viral genome", they shouldn't be
   described as a "close cousin".   Should it be called a "not-so-close
   cousin"?   I don't know.

References

   1. https://nerdhaspower.weebly.com/ratg13-is-fake.html