Coranivrus Gets Official Name of COVID-19 from World Health Organization

Posted on February 11, 2020

The novel coronaivirus that originated in Wuhan, China and has spread to multiple parts of the globe has been given the official name COVID-19 by the World Health Organization. The WHO currently has a team in China obtaining more information about the viral outbreak that has killed over 1,000 people in China.

Here is some information about how the WHO came up with the name:

The CO stands for coronavirus
The VI stands for virus
The D stands for disease
The 2019 stands for the year the disease began or was discovered

The WHO did not want a name that referred to a specific location or group of people. The official name will keep it from being called the Wuhan coronavirus in articles and on social media.

CNBC reports that WHO director-general 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 outbreak."

COVID-19