New coronavirus strains could be named after constellations once the Greek alphabet is used up, a World Health Organization boss has suggested.

世界卫生组织官员表示，一旦希腊字母用完，考虑用星座来命名新的新冠变异毒株。

The agency started naming new mutations after letters of the Greek alphabet back in May.

世卫组织自今年5月开始用希腊字母来命名新冠变异毒株。

So far, 11 variants have been named - including the Delta, Beta and Alpha strains.

截至目前，世卫组织已经用希腊字母命名了11种新冠变异毒株，包括阿尔法变异病毒、贝塔变异病毒、德尔塔变异病毒。

Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's COVID-19 technical lead, said the WHO is looking at new names in case they go through all 24 letters of the Greek alphabet.

世卫组织新冠疫情技术部门负责人范科霍夫表示，世卫组织正在为新冠变异毒株寻找新的命名方式，以防24个希腊字母不够使用。

At the moment, constellations are being considered.

范科霍夫表示，目前，该组织正在考虑以星座命名。

The WHO is looking at proposals to make sure no one is upset with the names, she added.

范科霍夫称，世卫组织正在研究提案，确保没有人对新的命名感到不满。