"They will not replace existing scientific names, but are aimed to help in public discussion," said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's Covid-19 technical lead. Besides these names, there are two other scientific names in use for each mutation, while different geographic names have been used to describe the same variant. 'Stigmatising and discriminatory"While they have their advantages, these scientific names can be difficult to say and recall, and are prone to misreporting," the WHO said in a statement. They lay some of the blame with former president Donald Trump, who repeatedly referred to Covid-19 as the "China virus". The Greek alphabet contains 24 letters but there is no plan yet as to where to go next if they are exhausted.

Source: News 24 May 31, 2021 18:44 UTC