Portrait showing parents' hands and babies' feet.
Raipur, India: Despite all the chaos all over the world, there are some things that end up leaving a smile on our faces.
A couple from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, were not deterred by the pandemic and they ended up naming their newborn twins as Covid and Corona.
The couple from Raipur said the twins symbolize hardship.
The twins were born amidst the ongoing coronavirus lockdown in India, which has left over 1.3 billion people inside their houses.
The couple said that the twins will remind everyone about the hardship that was endured during the nationwide lockdown.
The twins were born on the intervening night of March 26 and 27 at a government-run hospital in Raipur.
Preeti Verma, the 27-year-old mother of the twins, said, “I was blessed with the twins – a boy and a girl – in the early hours on March 27. We have named them Covid (boy) and Corona (girl) for now.”
She added, “The delivery happened after facing several difficulties and therefore, my husband and I wanted to make the day memorable.”
She continued, “Indeed the virus is dangerous and life-threatening but its outbreak made people focus on sanitation, hygiene and inculcate other good habits. Thus, we thought about these names.”
She went on, “When the hospital staff also started calling the babies as Corona and Covid, we finally decided to name them after the pandemic.”
The couple, who are originally from Uttar Pradesh, is living in a rented house in the Purani Basti area of Raipur.
Recalling the incident, Preeti said, “On late night of March 26, I suddenly experienced severe labour pain and somehow my husband arranged an ambulance operated under 102 Mahtari Express service. As no vehicular movement was allowed on roads due to the lockdown, we were stopped by police at various places but they let us go after noticing my condition.”
She added, “I was wondering what would happen in the hospital as it was midnight, but fortunately doctors and other staff were very cooperative.”
She continued, “Our relatives, who wanted to reach the hospital, could not make it as bus and train services were stopped due to the lockdown.”
The couple already has a 2-year-old daughter.
According to NDTV, the twins were born in the Dr. BR Ambedkar Memorial Hospital.
Shubhra Singh, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Dr. BR Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, confirmed that the twins were named as Corona and Covid.
The PRO said the family has been discharged from the hospital and were in good health upon the discharge.
The PRO added, “Within 45 minutes of their arrival, the delivery was done successfully.”
The twins were delivered through a cesarean operation after she failed to deliver the babies in a natural way.
The bad part about this news is that the couple said they might change the name of their kids in the near future.