WATCH: Meet Covid Marie, the Pinoy baby named after COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines — First there was Corona Kumar, then Covid Marie: parents have taken to naming newborns after the coronavirus, apparently unperturbed by the prospect of their children being forever associated with a deadly pandemic.

When Colline Tabesa gave birth to a healthy baby girl in the central Philippine city of Bacolod on April 13, she and the father John Tupas decided to mark the occasion with a show of gratitude.

"This COVID-19 has caused great suffering around the world," said 23-year-old Tupas, expressing relief after the uneventful delivery.

"I wanted her name to remind us that COVID did not only bring us suffering. Despite all of this, a blessing came to us," he added. 

And so, Covid Marie it was.

READ MORE: Covid, Corona, Lockdown: Newborns named after COVID-19 pandemic