WHO officially names Coronavirus disease as “Covid-19”

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially named the disease caused by the new coronavirus as “Covid-2019“. The new name “Covid-2019” has been taken from the words “corona”, “virus” and “disease”, with 2019 representing the year in which it emerged. The word coronavirus refers to the group of viruses it belongs to. The naming of the disease was done as the researchers were calling for an official name of the disease to avoid confusion and stigmatisation of any group or country.

The virus was also designated as SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• WHO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland; Director general: Tedros Adhanom.

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