NEW YORK — Coronavirus support to poor countries has been so far "grossly inadequate and that's dangerously shortsighted," U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock said on Thursday as he asked wealthy countries for billions more dollars in assistance. This is up from the world body's initial $2 billion request in March, then $6.7 billion in May. So far, Lowcock said, the United Nations has only received $1.7 billion. As finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies prepare to meet virtually on Saturday, Lowcock told reporters: "The message to the G20 is step up now or pay the price later." The coronavirus has infected at least 13.6 million people and there have been more than 584,000 known deaths worldwide, according to a Reuters tally.

Source: International New York Times July 16, 2020 21:56 UTC