WHO calls for new names for Covid variants to avoid country stigma Countries that conduct a lot of genetic sequencing are more likely to find new strains, say experts 12 January 2021 • 6:40pm New Covid variants have been detected all around the world Credit: Science Photo Library The World Health Organization is planning a naming system for new Covid-19 variants to avoid stigmatising countries that discover new strains of the disease. In the last few weeks new variants have been identified all over the world - including in the UK, South Africa, Brazil and Russia - that are now taking over the previous dominant strains.