World should follow South Korea on Covid-19 fight: Antonio Guterres

UN Chief Antonio Guterres has expressed hope that many countries in the world will follow the remarkable example of South Korea in addressing the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking about Thursday’s announcement that there was no new case in the Republic of Korea, the Secretary-General said, the country has been extremely successful in addressing the coronavirus outbreak and is planning to tackle climate change in its recovery from COVID-19.

Speaking at a news conference, Mr Guterres said, South Korea has presented plans for very ambitious green deal for its recovery from the pandemic, including a ban on new coal-fired plants and a reduction of emissions from existing coal-fired plants.

The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement early Thursday that



four cases in the previous 24 hours, all imported, took the country's total to 10,765, with 247 deaths and 9,059 recoveries.

South Korea's caseload has been slowing in recent weeks after it recorded hundreds of new cases every day between late February and early March. It has subsequently relaxed some of its social distancing guidelines and is expected to ease up on more restrictions in the coming days if the downward trend continues.

The UN Chief said recovery from the pandemic needs to go hand-in-hand with climate action, just as South Korea is doing now. He called on governments to ensure that spending to revitalize their economies gives priority to the creation of green jobs and use of low-carbon energy sources.