![A couple in India has named their twin children COVID and Corona in the wake of global coronavirus crisis. [PHOTO | COURTESY]](https://i0.wp.com/www.k24tv.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/TWINS.jpg?resize=730%2C414&ssl=1)
A couple in India has named their twin children COVID and Corona in the wake of the global crisis arising from the spread of the highly infectious respiratory disease, coronavirus.
The man-and-wife told the Press Trust of India that they decided to name the children COVID and Corona “in an effort to put a positive spin on the deadly pandemic that is devastating the world”.
The twin children -- a boy and a girl -- were born on March 27 at the B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Hospital in Raipur, Central India.
Also Read:
“I was blessed with the twins in the early hours on March 27,” the babies’ mother, Preeti Verma, told the Press Trust of India news agency.
“We have named them COVID and Corona for now,” said the 27-year-old.
The baby boy was given the name COVID, whereas the girl was named Corona, the newborns’ parents said.
The babies’ mother, Preeti told India’s Express News Service that her husband, Vinay Verma, took her to hospital on a motorcycle just before midnight on March 26.
Preeti termed the journey to hospital as tense because they had to pass through several checkpoints in compliance with India’s coronavirus lockdown measures.
Preeti ultimately arrived at the hospital and gave birth via caesarean section due to complications that arose on March 27.
Shubhra Singh, a spokesperson for B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, where Preeti gave birth, told the Press Trust of India that it took 45 minutes for Preeti to welcome the twins through surgery.
“Both the mother and newborn babies are doing fine,” Singh said.
The new mother said she and her husband embraced the names after hospital staff started using them to refer to the children.
“The delivery happened after facing several difficulties, and therefore, my husband and I wanted to make the day memorable,” she said.
“We finally decided to name them after the pandemic,” said Preeti.
“We wished to ease the anxiety and fear associated with these words and also make the occasion memorable,” added Preeti in an interview with Express News Service.
The mother-and-children have since been discharged from hospital.
As of March 27, when Preeti gave birth, India had recorded 854 cases of coronavirus, with 19 deaths registered.
India confirmed its first positive case of COVID-19 on January 30 in Kerala.
As of Saturday, April 4, India had recorded 3, 082 cases of coronavirus, with 86 deaths and 229 recoveries registered.
