The World Health Organization has announced that Coronavirus variants are to be known by letters of the Greek alphabet to avoid misreporting and stigmatising nations where they were first detected.
The new system applies to variants of concern – the most troubling of which four are in circulation – and the second-level variants of interest being tracked.
The WHO says while they have their advantages, these scientific names can be difficult to say and recall, and are prone to misreporting.
It added that people often resort to calling variants by the places where they are detected, which is stigmatising and discriminatory.