The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially named the new coronavirus disease Covid-19. WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained that the name was an amalgam of the words "corona," "virus" and "disease." He stressed that it did not refer to a geographical location, an individual or a group of people.

Meanwhile, the WHO said scientists are running tests on various animals but have so far not identified the intermediate host responsible for the new virus. "Some scientists have done some phylogenetic studies (of evolutionary history) and they have identified that this virus is very similar to a virus that is a coronavirus that can be found in bats," said a WHO official.