UN Orders 3,000 Staff at New York Headquarters to Work from Home... IMF Also Recommends

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[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] The United Nations has instructed employees at its New York headquarters to work from home for the next three weeks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), foreign media reported on the 13th (local time).

According to AFP and AP news agencies, UN Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres said in a message to staff, "We want to continue work through telecommuting while reducing the number of people physically coming to the headquarters," adding, "Your health while working is the most important."

Accordingly, among the 3,000 employees working at the New York headquarters, non-essential personnel will work from home starting next week, except for some staff whose presence is unavoidable.

Earlier, a Filipino diplomat at the UN headquarters was confirmed as the first COVID-19 case last week.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC also recommended telecommuting to its employees after one staff member tested positive for COVID-19.

Although working from home is not mandatory, this recommendation is expected to affect not only the 2,000 IMF headquarters employees but also 16,000 employees of the World Bank (WB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Meanwhile, the IMF employee who tested positive is reportedly receiving treatment in isolation.

An IMF spokesperson said, "In cooperation with health authorities, we are identifying people who had close contact with the employee and those who may be at risk of infection."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.