United Nations: 189 staffers infected, three dead due to coronavirus pandemic

A United Nations spokesman reportedly said that almost 189 people have been infected with coronavirus in the entire UN system across the world. Farhan Haq, who is the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, reportedly said that the virus has also claimed three deaths in the organisation. COVID-19 has been spreading across the world rapidly and has already affected 210 countries and territories. 

In a bid to contain the spread of the virus, the UN headquarters in New York has been telecommuting and working remotely. Initially, the UN Chief demanded that staff work remotely from March 16 to April 12. But due to the rapid spread of the virus, the authorities extended the order till April 30. 

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UNGA meeting postponed

A senior UN official also said that the UN General Assembly meetings scheduled for the next few months have also been postponed due to the pandemic. The office of the President of the 74th Session of the General Assembly reportedly said that it has been decided to postpone the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, scheduled to take place in Kyoto, Japan, from April 20 to 27, until further notice. Furthermore, the fourth conference of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones has also been postponed to a period in 2021. 

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As per reports, earlier this month, with an increasing number of COVID-19 cases in new York, UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric had said that "it is very likely" that the coronavirus situation "will have an impact of some sort on the General Assembly, but I think it's too early to tell and to give any more details at this point”. 

Meanwhile, coronavirus, which originated in China in December 2019, has now claimed over 120,000 lives worldwide as of April 14. According to the tally by an international news agency, the pandemic has now spread to 210 countries and territories and has infected more than 1.9 million people. Out of the total infections, more than 458,000 have recovered but the easily spread virus is continuing to disrupt many lives. Major cities have been put under lockdown in almost all countries including Spain, and the economy is struggling. 

(With PTI inputs) 

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