North Korea ordered the isolation of the capital Pyongyang for five days due to a “respiratory disease”, according to a South Korean specialized website, cited by Reuters and Agerpres.
The event appears to be the first city-wide event since North Korea announced in August 2022 that it had won the fight against COVID-19. Pyongyang residents have been ordered to stay at home from Wednesday to Sunday and must take their temperature daily, the Seoul-based website NK News reported, citing a government document.
The document does not mention COVID-19, but says that rhinopharyngitis is among the new diseases now spreading in the capital.
Citing sources in Pyongyang, NK News reported on Tuesday that residents of North Korea’s largest city appear to be stockpiling supplies in anticipation of possible isolation. It is not known whether other areas are also subject to similar isolation measures, and state media have not reported any new decisions in this regard.
According to meteorologists, the Siberian cold wave has now affected the Korean Peninsula, the temperature in Pyongyang reaches -22 degrees Celsius.
China, North Korea’s key trading partner and neighbor, has faced a wave of infections since abandoning its radical “Zero Covid” policy.
Kim Jong Un’s regime shut down the country in the face of the Covid pandemic
North Korea has strictly closed its borders since the start of the pandemic, but has allowed some exchanges with China.
Pyongyang announced its first case of COVID-19 in May 2022, and three months later said it had overcome the disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has long questioned Pyongyang’s statistics on COVID-19 and North Korea’s claims of controlling the epidemic.
According to some experts, North Korea has one of the worst health care systems in the world, with poorly equipped hospitals, few intensive care units and no treatment for COVID-19.
According to specialized sources, North Korea has not vaccinated its 25 million inhabitants. Other information indicates that Pyongyang may have received vaccines from China.
Source: Hot News
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