New name for disease caused by virus outbreak: COVID-19

The disease caused by a new virus that emerged late last year in China and has since sickened tens of thousands of people now has an official name: COVID-19. At a press briefing on Tuesday, the World Health Organization said it had decided on the name after consulting with the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health. “We had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual, or group of people,” said WHO dire