UN chief urges immediate global cease-fire to fight COVID-19
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed Monday for an "immediate global ceasefire" to protect vulnerable civilians in conflict zones from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic. "The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war," he said in a brief speech at UN headquarters in New York.
- World
- Agencies and A News
- Published Date: 07:27 | 23 March 2020
- Modified Date: 08:04 | 23 March 2020
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Monday for an immediate cease-fire in conflicts around the world to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.N. chief said: "It is time to put armed conflict on lock down and focus together on the true fight of our lives."
Guterres said people caught in armed conflicts, which are raging around the world, are among the most vulnerable and "are also at the highest risk of suffering devastating losses from COVID-19."
He told reporters from U.N. headquarters in New York that it's time to silence guns, stop artillery, end airstrikes and create corridors for life-saving aid.
"End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world," the secretary-general said.
There are more than 350,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus worldwide, and over 15,000 deaths.