WHO to Trump: don’t stigmatize coronavirus

World

Published: 2020-03-19 19:01

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 05:41


WHO to Trump: don’t stigmatize coronavirus
WHO to Trump: don’t stigmatize coronavirus

After calling the novel coronavirus "the Chinese Virus" the World Health Organization (WHO) explained on Wednesday, March 18, to US President Donald Trump why he should not use this characterization.

"Viruses know no borders and they don’t care about your ethnicity, the color of your skin or how much money you have in the bank. So it’s really important we be careful in the language we use lest it leads to the profiling of individuals associated with the virus," Dr. Mike Ryan, the executive director of WHO’s emergencies program, said at a news conference Wednesday.

Asked by reporters about his statement and whether it is racist, the US President defended his characterization at a news conference on Wednesday saying "it’s not racist at all," Trump said, "No, not at all.” He further explained that he can call it by that name "because it comes from China; that is why."

WHO named the novel coronavirus as COVID-19 to avoid stigmatization of a country, geographical location or people. The CO stands for corona, the VI for virus and the D for disease, while the number 19 is because it was discovered in late 2019.