United Nations World Food Programme executive director David Beasley has the Covid-19 coronavirus and is currently self-isolating at home in the United States, Beasley said in a statement late on Thursday.
"In the past few hours I have received confirmation, after testing, that I have the Covid-19 virus, said the statement.
"I began feeling unwell this past weekend after returning to my home in the US from an official visit to Canada and I took an early decision to go into self-quarantine, five days ago."
Beasley's symptoms from the respiratory disease had so far been "relatively light" and he is in "good spirits", the statement said.
WFP's chief is now working "urgently" with his staff to trace back anyone who he might have been in close contact with before he knew he had Covid-19 as there could be a risk that they have also been infected, the statement added.
Like "so many" at WFP, Beasley is joining meetings remotely and is working from his home in South Carolina throughout his self-isolation period, said the statement.
"Life must go on and WFP must continue to do the work that makes all of us so proud as we bring food assistance to the many millions across the world who depend on us for help," the statement underlined.
