The terms used to talk about coronavirus (COVID-19)

13/03/2020

The news about coronavirus (COVID-19) has been non-stop over the last few days. It’s been in the headlines around the world.

Here are some of the terms being used to talk about it.

The name of the disease

The disease’s official name, as stated by the WHO, is COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease, and 19 for the year of the first outbreak).

The name of the virus

If you’re not talking about the disease, but instead about the virus that causes it, then the official name, as stated by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), is “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2” (SARS-CoV-2). However, the WHO recommends not using this name in the press or health information in order to avoid confusion.

You can find more information on the terms used when talking about the coronavirus in the online Coronavirus Terms dictionary.

More information

We’d encourage you to watch the special programme broadcast on Catalan television on the subject: El nou coronavirus. Volem saber. Pere Vidal, a lawyer specializing in labour law and a course instructor with the UOC‘s Faculty of Law and Political Science, took part in the programme.

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