UN Confirms 51 Employees Test Positive For Coronavirus - Spokesman

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2020) Fifty-one United Nations employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) worldwide, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

"The latest numbers of UN staff throughout the system that have confirmed is 51," Dujarric said when asked about details on the organization's personnel affected by the novel coronavirus.

Dujarric said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had decided to reduce his time spent at the United Nations headquarters in New York City and partly work from home.

As all non-essential UN staff have been instructed to telecommute, the number of employees who entered the headquarters building as of Tuesday has dropped to about 130 from the usual 11,000.

In addition, following the guidelines from New York State authorities to maximize social distancing, the UN Security Council members also decided to switch their in-person meetings to video conferencing. Earlier in the day, they held a virtual meeting on updates from the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.