The United Nations has announced several important preventive measures related to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) and aim to prevent and contain the disease if something happens.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the organisation adopted, during the weekend, strict decisions and that Member States were informed about.
‘A new coronavirus (COVID-19) is challenging us all. We need to be ready to take on this threat together,’ he said, asking everyone to be safe, by following medical, scientific advice and taking simple, practical steps such as thorough hand washing and other recommendations by health authorities.
‘Be Informed and stay up to date with the latest guidance from your government and the World Health Organisation,’ the UN Secretary-General said.
The United Nation closed its doors to visitors Tuesday evening and begin preparing its staff, as well as the 193 member countries, to work remotely.
‘Out of an abundance of caution and following the decision to reduce the number of staff present in the UN Secretariat, it has been decided to close the complex to the general public and to temporarily suspend all guided tours until further notice,’ a UN spokesperson said in a statement.
‘As the Secretary-General has said, the health and safety of staff is a matter of his utmost priority and concern. The United Nations will continue to monitor the situation closely and further measures may be taken as circumstances evolve,’ according to the statement.
‘Now that the virus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real,’ WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus told reporters on a conference call from the organisation's Geneva headquarters Monday, adding that it would be the first pandemic in history that could be controlled. (QNA)