The "Covid-19" virus infected thousands of people, closed the borders between countries, and stopped work, travel and movement in many parts of the world, and scientists had not yet chosen a name for it.
For a long time it was referred to as the "Corona" virus, although this name is given to a group of viruses, all of which fall under it.
But why did it take so long to assign a name to him?
According to the BBC, Crystal Watson, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Safety, says: "The name of any new virus is often delayed. The focus is on people's general health, which is understandable."
But there are reasons to give the label the priority, so that scientists distinguish this particular virus, they added the adjective "new" after "Corona virus", and corona viruses were called this name due to its image under the microscope, which seems to have pointed ends like the crown.
The World Health Organization has recommended the temporary name 2019-CoVn, which includes the year in which it was discovered, the letter n indicates that it is new, and CoV is a reference to the Coronavirus, but this name has not been circulated.
Dr. says. Watson: "The name given to the virus is not easy to use. Even the media have resorted to using other names for the virus."
The risk, according to Watson, of not having an official name was "for the public to start using terms like the Chinese virus, and this could lead to a violent reaction in some populations."
Unofficial names "when social media circulate quickly prove, and it is difficult to revoke it after that."
The task of naming the virus officially lies with the International Virus Classification Committee.
Members of the committee have strange tales about cases of naming viruses in the past. In 2009, the H1N1 virus was called "swine flu," and that label in Egypt killed its pigs, even though the virus was spread by humans, not pigs.
The official names also caused some problems. The World Health Organization criticized the name "Mears", which is the abbreviation (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) in 2015.
She said in a statement: "We have seen that some names of diseases have provoked violent reactions in some religious and ethnic communities, and have created unjustified barriers in travel and trade, and have led to the killing of some animals that feed on their meat."
The organization therefore issued some guidelines, and based on these guidelines, the name of the new Corona virus should not have been included
A reference to a geographical location, the names of any of the peoples or the name of any animal or type of food, or a reference to a specific culture or industry. The organization said the name should be short and descriptive, such as "SARS", which is an acronym (acute respiratory syndrome) in English.
In order for the name to become popular, it must be easier to pronounce than other pseudonyms, says Benjamin Newman, a professor of virology, and one of the 10 members of the team assigned to draft a new name for the virus.
"We will know in the future whether or not what we have found is right," says Newman.
"For someone like me, I feel that my involvement in helping to name a virus is important, which may ultimately be a permanent business, and more helpful to people than my entire work." It is a huge responsibility. ”
A few days later, the team of 10 people announced that the name was announced: "Covid-19".
A team of 10 people assigned the name according to strict criteria and conditions.
Watson: The initial name given to the virus was not easy to use, and was not popular.