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Previously Known As Coronavirus, Now It's Known As COVID- 19
Feb 12, 2020
Main image via Forbes
Amid the coronavirus outbreak from China that’s alarming the world, the WHO has announced that now it will be called COVID- 19 instead of Coronavirus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus broke down the abbreviation to ‘CO’ for ‘corona’, ‘VI’ for ‘virus’ and ‘D’ for ‘disease’ and 19 was for the year it was identified, precisely on the 31st of December 2019.
While we know changing the name doesn't really help in looking for a cure, it's aimed at preventing stigmatization to certain geographical location, animal species or group of people.
via GIPHY
WHO also advises against using place names where the disease was first identified as it may put a permanent ‘tag’ on its people.
Naming diseases after people’s names has also been banned, as it may bring ‘undue fear’, according to WHO.
WHO had earlier give a temporary name for the disease, “2019-nCoC acute respiratory disease” and China’s National Health Commission named it “novel coronavirus pneumonia” or NCP but we know… it’s a mouthful.
COVID- 19 has killed more than a thousand people, infected over 42, 000 and has reached about 25 countries! As of now, there are 14 confirmed cases in Malaysia.
Let’s hope we get good news pretty soon!
Info via Channel News Asia