UN Humanitarian Chief Mark Lowcock announced the release of US$15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help fund global efforts to contain the COVID-19 virus. 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, IPN reports, quoting a press release.
The sudden increases of cases in Italy, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Korea are deeply concerning. There are now cases linked to Iran in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman, along with cases linked to Italy in Algeria, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.
The UN funding has been released to the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It will fund essential activities including monitoring the spread of the virus, investigating cases, and the operation of national laboratories.
The WHO has called for US$675 million to fund the fight against coronavirus. There is a window of opportunity to contain the spread of the virus if countries take robust measures to detect cases early, isolate and care for patients, and trace contacts. UNICEF is leading on preventative actions in communities across the affected countries with risk communication, providing hygiene and medical kits to schools and health clinics and monitoring the impact of the outbreak to support continuity of care, education and social services.
“At this pivotal moment, every effort must be made to push back against the outbreak,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “These crucial funds will support our global efforts to bolster weaker health systems and inform children, pregnant women and families about how to protect themselves.”
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, 93,000 clinical and laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 were recorded between December 31, 2019 and March 4, 2020. The death toll from the coronavirus rose to 3,202, with 2,983 deaths being reported in China
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection said that no case of infection with the novel coronavirus was reported in Moldova so far.
