Novel Coronavirus now named as ‘Covid-19’: WHO

Geneva, Feb 11: The World Health Organisation on Tuesday said deadly coronavirus that killed over 1,000 people in China and sickened more than 43,000 others globally would now be called as 'Covid-19'.

"We now have a name for the disease and it's Covid-19," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva, explaining that "co" stood for "corona", "vi" for "virus" and "d" for "disease".

He said,"Under agreed guidelines between WHO, the OIE Animal Health & FAO, we had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people, and which is also pronounceable and related to the disease"

Explaining in details why coronavirus was renamed, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said,''Having a name matters to prevent the use of other names that can be inaccurate or stigmatizing. It also gives us a standard format to use for any future coronavirus outbreaks."

The CO stands for corona, the VI for virus and the D for disease, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, announced Tuesday at a news conference at the agency's headquarters in Geneva.

The death toll from the virus in China on Monday rose to 1,017 with confirmed cases totalling to 42,708, Chinese health officials said on Monday. The confirmed cases abroad have gone up to 390. The virus was first identified in Wuhan, China, in late December.