On February 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially named the disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, as COVID-19, a shortened name for coronavirus disease 2019. The “CO’’ stands for coronavirus, “VI” stands for virus and “D” stands for disease. ‘19’ stands for 2019, the year that the virus was discovered to be causing illness in Wuhan, China. Coronaviruses are a kind of virus that looks, under an electron microscope, like it is surrounded by a halo, hence the name ‘coronavirus.’
The AP stylebook notes: “because COVID-19 is the name of the disease, not the virus, it is not accurate to write: ‘a virus called COVID-19’; ‘COVID-19 spreads through the air’; ‘scientists are investigating how long COVID-19 may remain on surfaces’; ‘she worries about catching COVID-19.’ In each of these instances, the writer should use ‘the coronavirus’, not ‘COVID-19,’ according to the stylebook.