A couple in India have named their twins born amid the global coronavirus pandemic Corona and Covid.
The siblings – a girl and a boy – were born to Preeti and Vinay Verma in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh on 27 March during the ongoing nationwide lockdown, according to NDTV.
“The delivery happened after facing several difficulties and therefore, my husband and I wanted to make the day memorable,” the twins’ 27-year-old mother told news agency Press Trust of India.
She said the coronavirus was “dangerous and life-threatening”, but the COVID-19 outbreak had also made people focus on sanitation, hygiene and instil other good habits.
“When the hospital staff also started calling the babies Corona and Covid, we finally decided to name them after the pandemic,” she added.
The twins were born at Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar Memorial Hospital in the state capital, Raipur.
The couple, originally from Uttar Pradesh, live in a rented house in the Purani Basti area of the city.
They said the names would remind them about the hardships they faced during the lockdown.
The lockdown in India has effectively kept 1.3 billion Indians at home for all but essential trips to places like markets or pharmacies.
But some health experts say India could be weeks away from a surge that could overwhelm its already strained public health system.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a three-week lockdown across the country on 24 March to prevent the spread of the virus.
The lockdown, which the PM says is necessary to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe, has brought further hardship to the poor. Many have lost their jobs, families are low on food and homeless shelters are overflowing.