This page brings together information and guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations regarding the current outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that was first reported in Wuhan, China, on 31 December 2019. Please visit this page for daily updates. WHO is working closely with global experts, governments and partners to rapidly expand scientific knowledge on this new virus, to track the spread and virulence of the virus, and to provide advice to countries and individuals on measures to protect health and prevent the spread of this outbreak.
Coronavirus global health emergency: Coverage from UN News
COVID-19: Recovery will be slower following ‘crisis like no other’, IMF predicts
Economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is projected to be more gradual than previously forecast, according to a report published on Wednesday by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Coronavirus: 10 million infections milestone looms – WHO's Tedros
The world is on track to reach 10 million coronavirus cases within the next week, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief executive said on Wednesday, a “sober reminder” that as research continues into therapeutics and vaccines, utmost efforts are needed now to suppress transmission and save lives.
COVID-19: Excluding people with disabilities leaves them without information that could save their lives
The importance of being informed about the coronavirus – from how to recognize the symptoms, to what to do to manage day-to-day life – is essential for all, and not to include people with disabilities is to leave them “without information that could save their lives”.
That’s according to Rosemary Kayess, vice-chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, who has spoken candidly to UN News from home in Australia, about her own fears and the intense challenges that people with disabilities are living with, during the pandemic.
170 signatories endorse UN ceasefire appeal during COVID crisis
UN Member States, Observers and others, sent a strong political message this week, with the announcement that 170 signatories have now endorsed the UN’s call to silence the guns, and stand united against the global threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Universal, inclusive education ‘non-negotiable’
Inclusive education should be a “non-negotiable” right for all children, the head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said in a new report launched on Tuesday.
Widows must not be left out of efforts to build back better after COVID-19
When countries begin building back from the COVID-19 pandemic they must also work towards dismantling laws that discriminate against women, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message for International Widow’s Day on Tuesday.
COVID-19 upends ‘entire generation’ of 600 million South Asian children
Without urgent action, COVID-19 will continue to unravel decades of progress across South Asia, destroying the “hopes and futures of an entire generation”, warns a new report released on Tuesday by the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF.
COVID ‘exacerbating existing vulnerabilities’ in Central African Republic: Lacroix
The Central African Republic (CAR) is making progress as it prepares for presidential and legislative elections in December, but the political situation is still fragile - and security conditions volatile - amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Monday.
WHO reports largest single day increase in COVID-19 cases
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases over the course of Sunday, registering more than 183,000 new infections in 24 hours, bringing the total to some 8.8 million cases worldwide, with more than 465,000 deaths.