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Newborn twins in India named Corona and Covid

The couple said the names would remind them about the hardships they faced during the nationwide lockdown.

NEW DELHI, Delhi — 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 long nationwide lockdown that began on March 24.

“The delivery happened after facing several difficulties and therefore, my husband and I wanted to make the day memorable,” Preeti Verma, the 27-old mother of the twins, told news agency Press Trust of India.

The couple said the names would remind them about the hardships they faced during the lockdown and ahead of the successful delivery in a government hospital last week.

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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 the coronavirus across the country, including 68 deaths.

Credit: AP
Policemen ask vegetable vendor to leave a market during lockdown to check the spread of the coronavirus, in Prayagraj, India, Saturday, April 4, 2020. India is adding more resources to tackle its increase in coronavirus cases by announcing that private hospitals may be requisitioned to help treat virus patients, and turning railway cars and a motor racing circuit into makeshift quarantine facilities. The steps were taken after a nationwide lockdown announced last week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi led to a mass exodus of migrant workers from cities to their villages, often on foot and without food and water, raising fears that the virus may have reached to the countryside, where health care facilities are limited. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

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The overall number of known cases in India is small compared with the United States, Italy and China, but health experts say India could be weeks away from a huge surge that could overwhelm its already strained public health system.

The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

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