UNITED NATIONS, Mar 02 (APP): The United Nations announced Sunday it is releasing US $15 million from an emergency fund to help countries with fragile health systems contain the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The announcement came as the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded the global risk of the coronavirus outbreak to “very high” – its top level of risk assessment. The WHO has said there is still a chance of containing the virus if its chain of transmission is broken.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the UN humanitarian chief, Mark Lowcock, said that it is not too late to contain COVID-19. “We do not yet see evidence that the virus is spreading freely. As long as that’s the case, we still have a chance of containing it”.
However, “swift and robust action must be taken to detect cases early”, he said, to “isolate and care for patients, and trace contacts. We must act now to stop this virus from putting more lives at risk”.
The emergency grant will support countries with fragile health systems to boost their detection and response efforts and, Lowcock said, adding it “has the potential to save the lives of millions of vulnerable people”.
Welcoming the funds, the head of the agency, Tedros Adhanon Ghebreyesus, said in a Tweet that they would help vulnerable countries to protect frontline workers and treat patients appropriately. The WHO is calling for US $675 million to fund the fight against coronavirus.
UNICEF will use its share of the funds to support the agency’s global efforts to inform children, pregnant women and families about how to protect themselves, agency chief Henrietta Fore explained on Sunday. “At this pivotal moment”, she said, “every effort must be made to push back against the outbreak”.
Five new countries (Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Ireland, Monaco and Qatar) have reported cases of COVID-19, the WHO reported in its Sunday situation report on the virus, bringing the total number of affected countries to 58.
Globally, there were 1,739 new confirmed cases during the 24-hour reporting period between Saturday and Sunday. Following a period of decline, the number of confirmed cases in Hubei Province, the epicentre of the virus, has risen over the last two days. WHO announced that it is monitoring the situation, and working to understand its significance.
