Pangolins are the only animals other than bats proposed to have been infected with SARS-CoV-2
related coronaviruses (SARS2r-CoVs) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we examine the
novel SARS2r-CoV we previously identified in game animal metatranscriptomic datasets
sequenced by He et al. (2022) and find that sections of the partial genome phylogenetically group
with Guangxi (GX) pangolin CoVs (GX PCoVs), while the full RdRp sequence groups with bat-
SL-CoVZC45. While the novel SARS2r-CoV is found in 6 pangolin datasets, the same CoV is
also found in 10 additional NGS datasets from 5 separate mammalian species and is likely
related to contamination by a laboratory researched virus. Absence of bat mitochondrial
sequences from the datasets, the fragmentary nature of the virus sequence and the presence of a
partial sequence of a cloning vector attached to a SARS2r-CoV read suggests that it has been
cloned. We find that NGS datasets containing the novel SARS2r-CoV are contaminated with
significant Homo sapiens genetic material, and numerous viruses not associated with the host
animals sampled. We further identify the dominant human haplogroup of the contaminating
H.sapiens genetic material to be F1c1a1, which is of East Asian provenance. The association of
this novel CoV with both bat CoV and the Guangxi pangolin CoV (GX PCoV) clades is an
important step towards identifying the origin of the GX PCoVs.