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HEALTH-VIRUS-UN-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY
UN non-essential staff to work from home
UNITED NATIONS, United States, March 14, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – All United
Nations staff at its headquarters in New York were told Friday to work from
home for at least three weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak unless it was
essential for them to be present.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the plan was “to reduce our
physical presence at United Nations Headquarters, while continuing to deliver
on our mandates.”
“Your health and well-being remain my greatest concern. Be safe, be smart,
be kind,” he said in a separate message to staff Thursday. About 3,000 UN
employees are based in New York.
A Philippine diplomat this week tested positive for the new coronavirus in
the first recorded case at UN headquarters.
Many organizations and companies around the world have sent staff home to
try to reduce the spread of the virus.
BSS/AFP/SSS/0914 hrs