"novel" sells,
because it's "new"
yet also an "advancement"
upon "normal",
what you are already used to ....

this is primary unconscious
every-day decision-making bias ...

the "new flu" is the "Wuhan-flu",
a novel corona-virus strain
of a flu you are already "familiar with" ...

this is marketing a new strain
of something we are familiar with
in Order to introduce a
news-train / new-strain
of "social disruption",

being marketed as "the new normal"

... a perfect example of marketing101
as described in this Ted-Talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pY7EjqD3QA ...