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
No need to politicize COVID-19: UN health agency chief
The COVID-19 pandemic should not be politicized as unity is the “only option” to defeat the disease, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
World Health Organization ‘absolutely critical’ to neutralizing coronavirus threat – UN chief
The World Health Organization (WHO) must be supported across the world, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday, describing the UN health agency, which has led the multilateral response since the beginning, as “absolutely critical” in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNDP in China supporting procurement of urgent medical supplies for developing countries
Supplies of personal protection equipment (PPE), masks and other medical items made in China are being sent to developing countries to support health workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in the country has said.
Beate Trankmann reported that her office has been supporting China’s response to the disease from the beginning, which first emerged there in late December.
Swift rebound for world trade still possible through joint action to thwart coronavirus
Global trade in goods could fall by as much as a third this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but a swift rebound in 2021 is possible if the world’s economic policymakers – working together – act immediately, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday.
Lean season and COVID-19 transmission fears keep Sahel aid chief up at night
In Africa’s central Sahel region, millions of people do not have enough to eat – and between the lean season and the encroaching COVID-19 pandemic, there are real fears that the situation is spiralling out of control.
In an interview with UN News’s Daniel Johnson, Chris Nikoi, the World Food Programme (WFP) Regional Director for West Africa, says that he can’t sleep at night for worrying about the potential impact COVID-19 restrictions will have on humanitarian operations.
Over 10,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa; Zimbabwe and South Sudan among most vulnerable
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday that the number of COVID-19 cases in Africa has now risen to more than 10,000, claiming more than 500 lives.
COVID-19: impact could cause equivalent of 195 million job losses, says ILO chief
The rapidly intensifying economic effects of COVID-19 on the world of work are proving to be far worse than the 2008-9 financial crisis, with cutbacks equivalent to nearly 200 million full-time workers expected in the next three months alone, the UN labour agency said.