Twins born during lockdown named after coronavirus pandemic
A couple in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh have named their newborn twins Corona and Covid.
The twins – a boy and a girl – were born during the ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown that commenced on March 24.
“The delivery happened after facing several difficulties and therefore, my husband and I wanted to make the day memorable,” said Preeti Verma, the 27-year-old mother of the twins.
The couple believes the names would remind them of the tumultuous time they faced during the lockdown and before the successful delivery in a government hospital.
The lockdown in India has resulted in the suspension of trains and airline services and effectively kept 1.3 billion Indians at home for all but essential trips to places like markets or pharmacies.
India has 2,909 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the country, including 68 deaths.
The overall number of confirmed cases in India is small in comparison to the United States, Italy and China, but health experts say India could be weeks away from a huge spike that could overwhelm its already strained public health system.
Globally, there are over 1.1 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 64,000 people have died.