WHO renames variants of concern using Greek alphabet - RTÉ

The World Health Organization has announced a new naming system for variants of interest (VOI) and variants of concern (VOC), the forms of the Covid-19 virus with important mutations.

Each variant will receive a name from the Greek alphabet, in a bid to strip some of the stigma from the emergence of new variants.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's coronavirus lead, said that "no country should be stigmatised for detecting and reporting variants".

She said the new labels for VOI/VOC are "simple, easy to say and remember and are based on the Greek alphabet, a system that was chosen following wide consultation and a review of several potential systems".

Under the new system, the variant first reported in Kent, England is renamed Alpha, the variant originating in South Africa is called Beta, the Brazilian variant is Gamma and the variant first reported in India is Delta....RTÉ