https://apnews.com/61cea1744cdb20135b9f7ca49cd1116b

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Nearly 100 world leaders and several dozen government ministers are scheduled to speak at the U.N. General Assembly’s special session that opens Thursday to discuss the response to COVID-19 and the best path to recovery from the pandemic, which has claimed 1.5 million lives and shattered economies in both rich and poor countries.

Assembly President Volkan Bozkir said when he took the reins of the 193-member world body in September that it would have been better to hold the high-level meeting in June. Nonetheless, he said Wednesday that the session “provides a historic moment for us to come together to beat COVID-19.”