WHO proposes new name for coronavirus

People in Beijing wear masks while waiting in line at the grocery store.

(Image credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

published 12 February 2020

In an attempt to avoid stigma, the World Health Organization has come up with a new name for the coronavirus illness now affecting people in 25 countries: COVID-19, which stands for "coronavirus disease 2019."

Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted on Tuesday that WHO "had to find a name that does not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual, or group of people, and which is also pronounceable and related to the disease."

The coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China, and was first detected at the end of last year. Chinese officials on Tuesday said 1,017 people have died from COVID-19 in the country, and there are 42,700 confirmed cases; there are 393 additional cases reported in 24 other countries. "With 99 percent of cases in China, this remains very much an emergency for that country, but one that holds a very grave threat for the rest of the world," Tedros said.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.