A G-7 joint statement on coronavirus failed because the U.S. insisted on calling it the 'Wuhan virus'

Mike Pompeo.
(Image credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Representatives from the Group of Seven nations met Wednesday to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, but they couldn't agree on a joint statement to release to the public afterwards.

German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that the disagreement had to do with the United States' insistence that the novel coronavirus be called the "Wuhan virus," in reference to where the pathogen is believed to have originated. The other countries, including Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, and Japan, winced at the notion, fearing that it could cause unnecessary division at a time when nations need to band together, The Washington Post reports.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.