Parents in India Name Newborn Twins As Corona And Covid

• Parents in Chhattisgarh, India named their newborn fraternal twins after the virus, Corona and Covid.
• They have been planning to name their babies something “memorable and unique.”
• After hearing about the names, the couple’s family elders and relatives pressured them to rename their children.

Wanting the fear associated with these “memorable and unique” names, Vinay and Preeti Verma, a couple from Chhattisgarh, India, named their newborn fraternal twins after the dreaded global virus: Corona and Covid. In a news feature, the Verma couple said that they have experienced hardships going to the hospital and delivering the baby because of the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The fraternal twins were born at a state hospital in Raipur on March 27, two days after Indian authorities imposed a nationwide lockdown, disrupting daily routines and shutting down non-essential businesses and establishments.

“The delivery happened after facing several difficulties and therefore, my husband and I wanted to make the day memorable,” Preeti Verma, 27, said in a news article posted in Press Trust of India.

The Verma couple further explained that through their twins’ names, they will be reminded about the hardship they have confronted during the lockdown.

When she experienced “severe labor pain,” her husband immediately called an ambulance through 102 Mahtari Express service. As public transportation has been ceased to operations, they had to stop for several checkpoints. They arrived “late at night” after a lot of difficulties along the way.

Their family members, on the other hand, could not visit them at the hospital because of the lockdown.

“Indeed , the virus is dangerous and life-threatening but its outbreak made people focus on sanitation, hygiene, and inculcate other good habits. This, we thought about these names ,” the mother said.

She also added that after hearing the hospital staffs calling their babies Corona and Covid, they have finally decided to name them after the pandemic.

Vinay Verma, her husband, said that the names they chose for the twins were “beautiful in their own way” as Corona is derived from a Latin name meaning “crown” while the Covid names can be associated with “fear” because of the virus.

“Also we want the fear associated with these names to end and the public to focus on sanitation and hygiene,” Verma added.

The couple admitted that the family members and relatives are pressuring them to rename their children.

On March 25, the government of India imposed a nationwide lockdown, suspending all transport services and implementing strict self-quarantine measures. The lockdown was made after confirmed cases of coronavirus has increased to 4,281 with 111 deaths.