Coronavirus Disease Named Covid-19

Why in News

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has named the new coronavirus disease as ‘Covid-19’.

• The new name is taken from the words "corona", "virus" and "disease", with 2019 representing the year when it emerged (the outbreak was reported to the WHO on 31^st December, 2019).
• The WHO wanted to avoid stigmatizing a country or particular group, so it chose a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or a group of people.
• Moreover, the word coronavirus refers to the group of viruses it belongs to, rather than the latest strain. The latest strain has been designated ‘Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)’ by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.
• The new strain has killed over 1,000 people in China and sickened more than 43,000 others globally.