World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared an official name for the new coronavirus disease: COVID-19.
The new name was announced via a tweet from WHO’s official Twitter handle, which reads;
We now have a name for 2019nCov disease. The new name is COVID-19. The CO stands for corona, the VI for virus and the D for disease.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
“We now have a name for the #2019nCoV disease:
COVID-19.
I’ll spell it: C-O-V-I-D hyphen one nine – COVID-19″
–@DrTedros #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/Kh0wx2qfzk
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) February 11, 2020
The UN health agency wanted a name that does not refer to a geographical location, animals, an individual or a group of people.
WHO is leading a 2-day global research and innovation forum to mobilize international action in response to coronavirus outbreak in Geneva, Switzerland.
According to a tracking platform, Worldometer, 45,171 cases have been confirmed and 1,115 people have died totally, as of Wednesday morning, February 12.
In China alone, 2,015 confirmed new cases and 97 additional deaths, most of them in Hubei province, as of February 11.
The virus which broke out in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, China has so far affected 28 countries and territories around the world.
