Couple names twins after deadly Coronavirus

An Indian couple has named their twins Covid and Corona, born on the intervening night of March 26-27 in Raipur in Chhattisgarh, as the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ravages the world.

It was gathered that the twin babies, male and female, named Covid and Corona respectively, were born in Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, but the 27-year-old mother of the twins, Preeti Verma has said it is likely they will change the names of the twins.

“I was blessed with the twins – a boy and a girl – in the early hours on March 27. We have named them Covid (boy) and Corona (girl) for now. The delivery happened after facing several difficulties and therefore, my husband and me wanted to make the day memorable.

“Indeed, the virus is dangerous and life-threatening but its outbreak made people focus on sanitation, hygiene and inculcate other good habits. Thus, we thought about these names. When the hospital staff also started calling the babies as Corona and Covid, we finally decided to name them after the pandemic,” mother of the twins told Press Time of India.


Narrating how she was able to escape Indian police to reach the hospital for delivery, mother of the twins said, “On late night of March 26, I suddenly experienced severe labour pain and somehow my husband arranged an ambulance operated under 102 Mahtari Express service. As no vehicular movement was allowed on roads due to the lockdown, we were stopped by police at various places but they let us go after noticing my condition. I was wondering what would happen in the hospital as it was midnight, but fortunately doctors and other staff were very cooperative.

Meanwhile, according to the Press Time of India, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the hospital, Shubhra Singh said, the mother and the newborns were discharged recently and are in good health.

As soon as Verma reached the hospital with her husband, arrangements were made to perform a caesarean section on her as it was a complicated case, Singh said.

“Within 45 minutes of their arrival, the delivery was done successfully,” the PRO said.

The twins had become a centre of attraction in the hospital after the couple named them as Covid and Corona, Singh said.