New Coronavirus Officially Named COVID-19

A woman wearing a face mask walks through a device that sprays disinfectant at an entrance to a residential compound, following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country, in Tianjin, China on Feb. 11, 2020. cnsphoto via Reuters

The new coronavirus that started in China was officially named COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

The “CO” stands for corona, the “VI” stands for virus, and the “D” refers to disease, WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at a press conference at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva on Feb. 11.