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
UN rights chief warns against mishandling the lifting of COVID-19 lockdowns
The UN Human Rights High Commissioner on Thursday warned of potential risks as more countries move to lift lockdown measures put in place to contain COVID-19 spread.
UN leads call to protect most vulnerable from mental health crisis during and after COVID-19
Decades of neglect and underinvestment in addressing people’s mental health needs have been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN said on Thursday, in a call for ambitious commitments from countries in the way they treat psychological illness, amid a potential global spike in suicides and drug abuse.
Protecting kids’ mental health during COVID-19, as important as physical fitness
It may seem obvious to an adult, but to a child it may not be so clear that they aren’t to blame if they get sick with COVID-19.
That’s one of the key messages that the World Health Organization - WHO - wants to convey as part of the UN campaign to promote good mental health during this incredibly stressful pandemic, full of unknowns.
Just ahead of the UN’s major update on mental health during the crisis, Daniel Johnson, spoke to Dr Fahmy Hanna, from the WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Use.
Coronavirus ‘grim reality’: World economy to shrink by 3.2 per cent, new UN report projects
Against the backdrop of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the world economy in 2020 is projected to shrink by 3.2 per cent, racking up some $8.5 trillion in overall losses – wiping out nearly four years of output gains, according to a mid-year economic analysis by the United Nations.
COVID-19 threatens to undo global health progress
While more people are living longer and healthier lives, the rate of progress is too slow to realize global efforts to stamp out poverty and inequality by 2030, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
South Sudan: Coronavirus cases confirmed inside UN civilian protection site
The South Sudanese Government has confirmed that two cases of COVID-19 have been identified inside a Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in the capital, Juba, although the world’s youngest nation has been relatively unscathed by the pandemic, with 74 cases recorded so far.
Take ‘all appropriate public health measures’ to protect detainees from coronavirus, UN urges
UN agency chiefs on Wednesday highlighted the heightened vulnerability to COVID-19 of detainees, and others in confinement, urging Governments to take “all appropriate public health measures” to keep them safe from the deadly disease.
COVID-19 could help turn the tide on ocean health in Asia-Pacific
The COVID-19 pandemic could help turn the tide on the well-being of oceans in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a UN report published on Wednesday.
COVID-19 pandemic ‘quickly becoming a child rights crisis': Daily death rate could spike by 6,000 for under-fives
As the coronavirus outbreak enters its fifth month, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that the health crisis is “quickly becoming a child rights crisis”, requesting $1.6 billion to support its humanitarian response for children impacted by the pandemic. And without urgent action, a further 6,000 under-fives could die each day.
UN sustainable energy project in Ukraine finds a new role: fighting COVID-19
A United Nations project to promote energy efficiency among Ukrainian homeowners has found a second life – informing 1.8 million of the nation’s citizens on how to combat the COVID-19 virus.