UN peacekeeping chief tests positive for COVID-19
Lacroix is the first senior official from UN headquarters to report being infected
United Nations: The UN undersecretary-general for peacekeeping, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, has tested positive for COVID-19 and is self-isolating in Lisbon, he announced on Tuesday after a trip to Sudan and the Central African Republic.
"I wanted to let you know that I've tested positive for COVID-19. I'm asymptomatic and isolating in Lisbon, working remotely," he tweeted.
Lacroix was in Lisbon for a conference on peace and security Friday. A trip he had planned to the Democratic Republic of Congo has been postponed.
The Frenchman is responsible for roughly 100,000 peacekeepers deployed in some 15 peace operations around the world.
Since the spring, several heads of UN agencies have tested positive for the new coronavirus.
Lacroix is the first senior official from UN headquarters to report being infected.
In New York, the UN works mainly remotely. Visits abroad by UN officials have recently resumed, with the introduction also of "virtual trips" such as the one recently organised in Colombia by the deputy secretary-general of the UN, Amina Mohammed, currently in West Africa.