On February 11, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus will be officially named "Coronavirus Disease 2019" (COVID-19).
Among them, "CO" stands for Corona, "VI" stands for Virus, "D" stands for Disease, and "19" stands for 2019, the year the disease was discovered. At the same time, because the coronavirus that causes pneumonia is highly related to the coronavirus that causes SARS, the virus was named "SARS-CoV-2".
“Having a name is important to prevent people from using other inaccurate or stigmatizing names.” Tedros said, “We want a name that does not allude to any geographical location, animal, The name of an individual or group. ”
This is also the first time that WHO has used this guideline since it issued the guideline for naming new infectious diseases in 2015. Tedros said, “This practice also provides a standard paradigm that can be used as a reference for naming any coronavirus in the future.”