Nomenclature

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on May 31 said COVID-19 variants B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2 that first emerged in India will now be called 'Kappa' and 'Delta' respectively. The nomenclature was done by an expert group that named the variants on the basis of Greek alphabets and they will remain in use, said the WHO. This follows India's objection to labelling of the variants as "Indian variant" by various media sources.