On February 1 1, WHO Director-General Tan Desai announced that novel coronavirus would be officially named "Coronavirus Pneumonia-19". Among them, "CO" stands for corona, "VI" stands for virus, "D" stands for disease, and "19" stands for the year when the disease was discovered.

At the same time, because the coronavirus causing pneumonia is highly correlated with the coronavirus causing SARS, the virus was named "novel coronavirus". It is important to have a name, which can prevent people from using other inaccurate or stigmatized names. This is also the first time that WHO has used the new naming guide for infectious diseases since it was released on 20 15. Tan Desai said, "This practice also provides a standard paradigm for future naming of any coronavirus."