WHO Gives The New Name Corona Virus To Be COVID-19

Clothing for infectious disease outbreaks (Irvan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) has given a new name for the corona virus which was first discovered in Wuhan, China. The virus, previously known as '2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease', now has the official name COVID-19.

According to the New York Times, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that the new name does not refer to anything, either a place or an animal, associated with the coronavirus. The goal is to avoid stigma.

"Having a name is important to prevent the use of other names that can be inaccurate or stigmatized. It also gives us a standard format to use for future coronavirus outbreaks," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, quoted from Twitter, Wednesday, February 12.

🚨 BREAKING 🚨 "We now have a name for the # 2019nCoV disease: COVID-19. I'll spell it: COVID hyphen one nine - COVID-19" - @ DrTedros # COVID19 pic.twitter.com/Kh0wx2qfzk

- World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) February 11, 2020

Tedros said that the selection of COVID-19 stands for Corona virus disease, while "19" is for the year it was discovered. As is known, this outbreak was first identified on December 31, 2019 in the city of Wuhan, China.

In addition, WHO has also avoided linking the outbreak with the name 'China' or 'Wuhan', where the disease was first identified. The naming of a city or area for the name of a disease is seen as an insult.

Some experts say they regret mentioning an infection that is also caused by a different coronavirus, namely Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

It is hoped that the new name will no longer use the names that have appeared in mass media and social media, including the Wuhan virus, Wu Flu. Ghebreyesus also added that there are still realistic opportunities to tackle the disease if sufficient resources are properly devoted.

Monitored from the gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com site, the total cases of the COVID-19 outbreak reached 45,183 cases. A total of 1,115 were reported dead and 4,846 people managed to recover from the virus.

Corona virus monitoring site (gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com)

In recent days, the Chinese authorities have been increasingly criticized for their handling of the crisis when cases first emerged. The death of a doctor who warned of COVID-19 sparked public outrage.

In addition, the public is also suspecting that the Chinese authorities are trying to silence some people and senior officials for their actions to control this disease.

The highest anti-corruption agency in China is said to have been sent to Hubei to investigate what treatment doctor Li Wenliang received, which failed to save his life.