The UN Security Council will hold its first meeting on the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday, after weeks of divisions among its five permanent members, diplomats said Monday.

Last week, nine of the 10 non-permanent members formally requested a meeting featuring a presentation by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. 

The meeting is to be held behind closed doors at 3:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Thursday, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

It's not yet clear what form the meeting will take, or what could be accomplished: will the member nations show unity in the fact of a global crisis and a willingness to cooperate, or proceed with a settling of scores?

Last week, the UN General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution calling for "international cooperation" and "multilateralism" in the fight against COVID-19 – the first text to come out of the world body since the outbreak.

The nine countries that requested the meeting are Germany, which spearheaded the effort, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, Indonesia, Niger, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam.

The final non-permanent member, South Africa, did not support the move, saying the council's remit was peace and security, not health and economic issues.

(With input from AFP)

(Cover: The UN headquarters in New York. /Reuters)