The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Tuesday the official name for the diseases caused by a novel coronavirus: COVID-19. The acronym stands for coronavirus disease 2019, as it was first detected towards the tail end of 2019.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that the chosen name did not refer to any places, animals, or people to avoid stigma.
“We had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people, and which is also pronounceable and related to the disease,” Ghebreyesus announced via Twitter.
“Having a name matters to prevent the use of other names that can be inaccurate or stigmatizing. It also gives us a standard format to use for any future coronavirus outbreaks,” he added.
According to the Chinese officials on Tuesday, the death toll from the COVID-19 epidemic continues to rise. About 1,017 people had already died, while the number of confirmed infections in China is now around 42,700. Furthermore, 393 cases are from abroad in a total of 24 countries. Including three confirmed cases in the Philippines.
Furthermore, Ghebreyesus said that the first vaccine for COVID-19 could be available in 18 months. “So we have to do everything today using available weapons,” he said.
via World Health Organizationvia World Health Organization
—(Source: The New York Times)
Blayce helped launch WhatALife! Blog in late May 2019, publishing trendy lifestyle and entertainment articles, local and international news reports, as well as inspiring feature stories of successful individuals hailing from Cagayan de Oro City. A jack-of-all-trades, she is a part-time gamer, occasional guitar player, and a zombie-genre fanatic.
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