United Nations, September 16. /TASS/. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called the coronavirus the number one global threat today. He voiced this opinion at a press conference on Wednesday prior to the UN General Assembly high-level week.
"The virus is the number one global security threat in our world today," he stressed.
For this reason, the Secretary General added, he is going to urge to cease all conflicts worldwide by the end of 2020. "In my speech to the General Assembly on Tuesday, I will make an appeal to the international community to mobilize all efforts for the global ceasefire to become a reality by the end of the year," he noted.
The coronavirus pandemic has gotten out of hand and the number of its victims will soon surpass 1 mln, Antonio Guterres said. "Soon, we will pass the grimmest of milestones: 1 million lives lost to the virus. Meanwhile, the outbreak is out of control," he noted.
According to the latest statistics, over 29,734,100 people have been infected worldwide and more than 939,000 deaths have been reported. To date, 1,079,519 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 890,114 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 18,917 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.
The high-level General Debate of the UN General Assembly is held at the UN from September 22 until September 29. This year the majority of addresses will be in a video format.