Call it now “Covid-19”. This is the new name given to the coronavirus by the WHO (World Health Organization) in an expert meeting since this morning in Geneva. It has left more than 1,000 people dead worldwide to date.
The new coronavirus will be officially called ‘Covid-19’, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva announced on Tuesday. This name replaces that of 2019-nCoV, decided provisionally after the onset of the disease. The new name has been chosen so as to be “easy to pronounce”, while remaining without reference “Stigmatizing” to a particular country or population, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
A “very serious threat” to the world
The new coronavirus is a “very serious threat” for the world, assured Tuesday the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO). “With 99% of cases in China, this remains a great emergency for this country, but it also poses a very serious threat to the rest of the world”said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the opening in Geneva of a WHO conference on the disease. Some 400 scientists are to review for two days ways to fight the epidemic, focusing on its transmission and possible treatments. “The most important thing is to stop the epidemic and save lives. With your support, this is what we can do together”said the head of WHO to the participants. He notably called on all countries to show “solidarity” by sharing the data at their disposal. “This is particularly true with regard to samples and sequencing (of the virus). To overcome this epidemic, we need equitable sharing “, he said.
He hoped that this meeting would lead to a “roadmap“in research, which” researchers and donors can align with. “More than 42,600 people have been infected with this virus in mainland China, and at least 1,016 of them have died. Outside China mainland, the virus killed two people, one in the Philippines and another in Hong Kong, and more than 400 cases of contamination have been confirmed in around 30 countries and territories.
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