U.N. triples coronavirus appeal to $6.7 billion to help poor countries

The United Nations on Thursday more than tripled its appeal to help vulnerable countries combat the spread and destabilizing effects of the coronavirus pandemic, asking for $6.7 billion to help 63 states mainly in Africa and Latin America. While the United States and Europe are in the grip of the outbreak, U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock warned that the virus was not expected to peak in the world's poorest countries until some point over the next three to six months. The new coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19, has infected some 3.7 million people globally and more than 263,000 have died, according to a Reuters tally.