Why is coronavirus infection called COVID-19?
COVID stands for 'corona virus disease' and the first case was indeed in 2019.
Coronavirus infection is actually caused by SARS-CoV-2 i.e. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2. A novel strain of this virus infected an individual in December, 2019. Since this novel strain of coronavirus caused coronavirus disease in 2019 therefore, it is called COVID-19.