The disease that has caused more than a thousand deaths in China has a new name — Covid-19.
In a press briefing Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the name which he said is focused on the type of virus that caused the disease.
“Co” and “Vi” come from coronavirus; “D” meaning disease; and 19 standing for 2019, the year the first cases were seen.
“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,” Ghebreyesus said.
The new name, which provides a standard format for any future coronavirus outbreak, was agreed upon by the WHO, World Organization for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
As of 6 a.m. Tuesday (Geneva time), the WHO recorded 42,708 confirmed cases in China and 1,017 deaths due to the virus.
Most of the cases and the deaths are in Hubei province and Wuhan in China.
Outside China, the WHO recorded 393 confirmed cases in 24 countries and one mortality. (PNA)
