WHO Skipped Xi To COVID Variant Names To Avoid Offending China’s Dictator

The cover up continues: the letters Xi of the Greek alphabet have been skipped in naming the new COVID-19 variant.

Telegraph's Paul Nuki reports that the World Health Organization (WHO) deliberately avoided using Xi to avoid stigmatizing the region. China's paramount leader, of course, is Xi Jinping. The new variant was dubbed "Omicron" on Friday. Like every variant before it, scientists say the variant is expected to bring a spike in COVID-19 cases. Countries such as the Netherlands, are entering modified lockdowns once more.

The WHO might say they want to avoid offending a particular region, but that's never stopped them before. See the Spanish Flu and German Measles for evidence, as Wuhan and China Virus appear to be off limits.

A spokeswomen for the United Nations public health agency gave an explanation for why Xi was skipped, in a statement to the New York Post.

“ Nu the reasoning was people would get confused thinking it was the new variant, rather than a name,” Dr. Margaret Harris said. “And XI because it’s a common surname and we have agreed naming rules that avoid using place names, people’s names, animal, etc. to avoid stigma.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) was quick to call out the WHO on Twitter after Nuki's report.

"If the WHO is this scared of the Chinese Communist Party, how can they be trusted to call them out the next time they're trying to cover up a catastrophic global pandemic?" Cruz tweeted.