GENEVA - All meetings at the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be suspended until March 20 after a WTO staff member has been infected by COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo announced on Tuesday.

"We take the health of Secretariat staff and our members very seriously, which is why we have taken this unprecedented step," explained Azevedo, adding that "we are monitoring the situation very closely and will take whatever measures are necessary to protect health and safety."

He said that the suspension decision would be reviewed before the end of next week.

The WTO said in a statement that it has a coronavirus Task Force in place to monitor developments and is taking all precautions necessary in response to the evolving situation.