The South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) is advising news organisations against using the term ‘India variant’ or ‘Indian variant’, while describing the new strain of Covid-19, that reportedly originated out of India.

“Over the years, certain disease names have provoked verbal, physical or social backlash against members of specific religious or ethnic groups. The most recent example is Covid-19, which was first detected in Wuhan, China. Health experts and advocates have directly connected terms like the “China virus” or “Wuhan virus” to the recent increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans,” the SAJA said. The association encouraged journalists to exercise care in their ongoing coverage of the Coronavirus surge in India and said it was available to foster fair and accurate coverage of the South Asian community.