UN informs personnel with travel history to Covid19 hit nations to stay home
The United Nations has informed its staff at the headquarters that its personnel returning to the US from countries with widespread transmission of the coronavirus should remain home and self-monitor for 14 days, as cases of people infected with the deadly disease increased rapidly across the US.
Spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Stphane Dujarric, told reporters on Monday that following internal meetings over the weekend and taking into account the declaration of a state of emergency for New York State, “it was announced today to all staff that it is recommended that UN personnel who have recently returned from countries identified by the host country should remain and home and self-monitor for 14 days.”
Dujarric said that telecommuting and flexible work arrangements are also being recommended for UN personnel, taking into account business continuity requirements.
In Geneva, UN personnel were also notified of how the UN in Geneva aims to maintain essential activities, while postponing or cancelling other activities. “The Palais des Nations is also considering how to put the latest recommendations on telecommuting issued by the Swiss authorities into practice.”
“Regarding the situation in-house in the building, the Secretary-General is following the matter very closely. The health and safety of staff is a matter of his utmost priority and concern as well as all of those who use the building, he said.
With a view to slow the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) into the US, Washington has said that people arriving from China, Iran, Italy and South Korea will be asked to stay home for a period of 14 days from the time they left an area with widespread or ongoing community spread.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that the global number of confirmed cases now topped 110,000. WHO noted that some countries are demonstrating that the spread of the virus can be slowed and its impact reduced through the use of universally applicable actions, such as working across society to identify people who are sick, bringing them to care, and following up on contacts.
Meanwhile, despite constraints imposed by the new coronavirus disease, activists for gender equality gathered at UN Headquarters for the latest session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), to reinforce the message that women's rights are human rights.
