MOSCOW, June 6. /TASS/: The G20 member states agreed to allocate more than $21 billion in funding for efforts to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to a statement posted on the organization’s official website on Saturday.
"The G20, with invited countries, has coordinated the global efforts to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, G20 members and invited countries have pledged over US$21 billion to support funding in global health," the statement says.
The funds will be allocated for efforts aimed at preventing the virus from spreading, including diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics, and research and development.
In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe.
On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 6,714,300 people have been infected worldwide and more than 393,400 deaths have been reported.
