UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2020) The ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak will likely affect the work of the United Nations General Assembly high-level event in September, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Friday.
"We have taken the decision to cancel all events for the next two months," Dujarric said. "It is very likely that this will have an impact of some sort on the General Assembly."
On Thursday, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo banned gatherings of 500 or more people, outlining a six-month time frame for the new restriction. The UN General Assembly is scheduled to be held on September 15-30 in New York and usually attracts large diplomatic delegations from 193 member states.
The spread of the COVID-19 has already impacted the work of the UN office in Nairobi, Kenya, where managers had been required to implement remote working up to three days a week to reduce staff's exposure to mass transport and other crowded areas, Dujarric said.
Similarly, the United Nations in Ghana has decided that its personnel would now work from home. The United Nations in Iran is also fully working from home, following the steep increase in COVID-19 cases in the country.
At the UN office in Geneva, guided tours and cultural events organized by member states and international organizations had been suspended. According to Dujarric, entry into the building is strictly reserved for UN employees, journalists with UN accreditation and people coming for essential meetings.
Meanwhile, in New York, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is currently in discussions with senior personnel regarding further measures related to the COVID-19 concerns.
On Thursday, Guterres decided to cancel all side events at the UN complex in New York until the end of April 2020 amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The following day, the UN confirmed that a diplomat from Philippine's mission had been tested positive for the virus.
