The World Health Organization is releasing new nomenclature for the coronavirus variants that were earlier known either by technical letter-number codes or by the countries where they were first identified. 

In an attempt to strike a fair balance, the most concerning variants, termed the "variants of concern", will now be referred to using Greek letters.  The variant of concern which was first identified in Britain, also known as B.1.1.7, will be called as the ‘alpha’ variant. The variant that was first detected in South Africa, known as B.1.351, will be known as the ‘beta’ variant. The one that was first detected in Brazil will be known as the ‘gamma’ variant and the one that was first found in India will be termed the ‘delta’ variant... (ET Healthworld – PTI, June 1, 2021)