Coronavirus outbreak: UN Security Council to hold closed-door session on COVID-19 today

New Delhi, Apr 09: The UN Security Council is all set to hold a closed video-teleconferencing session to discuss the COVID-19 situation across the world. This would be the first time the world body's top organ is holding a meeting on the raging coronavirus pandemic.

Council President for the month of April, the Dominican Republic has formally scheduled a closed video-teleconferencing (VTC) "in connection with the impact of COVID-19 on the issues that fall under the Security Council's mandate."

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres would be participating in the session, that is scheduled to be held on Thursday at 3 pm.

However, it remains to be seen whether any statement would be provided to the media by the Council on the COVID-19 situation after the meeting is concluded.

Special Envoy from Dominican Republic to UN Ambassador Jose Singer and President of Security Council for April had said that a Council meeting on the coronavirus situation had been requested by five or six ambassadors and the Dominican Republic was working to schedule the discussion.

Coronavirus cases across the world grew exponentially, while the Council under the presidency of China last month, did not hold any discussions on the pandemic.

China's Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun, as he took over the presidency of the Council in March, was asked whether China plans to discuss the coronavirus emergency.

He had said that there is no need to panic over the coronavirus epidemic and Beijing does not plan to discuss the situation in the Council during its presidency, even adding that the world is not far from the defeat of COVID-19 with the coming of spring.

The US has the highest number of COVID19 cases in the world at 432,132, followed by Spain (148,220), Italy (139,422), Germany (113,296). More than 14,000 people have died in the US due to COVID-19.