A new coronavirus (CoV) called SARS-CoV-2 emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019 as the etiological agent of a viral pneumonia called COVID-19. The global spread of SARS-CoV-2 has been so extensive that the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Below, we discuss the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and provide the historical context, which strongly suggests emerging CoVs provide an immediate threat to global public health and will continue to do so in the future.