US urges world leaders to stay away from New York for UN general assembly

The United Nations Headquarters building in New York (Osamu Honda/AP)

The United States is urging the more than 150 countries planning to send their leader or a government minister to New York to speak in person at the UN general assembly next month to consider giving a video address instead to prevent the annual high-level week from becoming “a super-spreader event”.

A note from the US Mission sent to the 192 other UN member nations also called for all other UN-hosted meetings and side events to be virtual, saying these parallel meetings that draw travellers to New York “needlessly increase risk to our community, New Yorkers and the other travellers”.