In Asia, newborn babies are called Covid, Corona or Lockdown.

In Asia, babies named Covid, Corona and Lockdown

 

At the start, there was Corona Kumar, then Covid Marie: as the days went by, more and more parents gave their newborn baby a name alluding to the coronavirus, visibly indifferent to the long-term consequences of their choice.

 

When Hill Tabesa gave birth on April 13 to a baby girl in Bacolod, the Philippines, she agreed with father, John Tupas, to express her gratitude after this uneventful birth. "This Covid-19 has caused tremendous suffering across the planet," said 23-year-old Tupas, who asked that his daughter be given "a name that reminds us that the Covid spared us." It is for this reason that the newborn baby became Covid Marie.

 

A few weeks earlier, two moms in southeast India had the same idea. It was allegedly blown to them by a doctor at the hospital where their babies were born.

 

One is now called Corona Kumar and the other is Corona Kumari. "I told them that it would help to raise awareness (people) about the disease and to remove the prejudices that surround it," said doctor, S.F. Basha. "To my surprise, they agreed," he says. 

 

A similar idea germinated in the minds of a couple of migrant workers from northeast India who found themselves stranded thousands of miles from their home in the state of Rajasthan. They chose to call their son "Lockdown", which means confinement in English.

 

"We called it Lockdown, remembering all the problems we faced during this difficult time," the father told media. Mr. Tupas, father of Covid Marie, says he was criticized via social networks for his singular choice which he does not seem to regret. "She could be bullied, but I'm just going to teach my daughter to be a good person," he said.