OUR North Korea introduced a five-day quarantine in the capital Pyongyang due to a “respiratory illness,” according to a South Korean website.

The measure appears to be the first to be applied to an entire city since the country declared victory over Covid-19 in August 2022.

Pyongyang residents have been ordered to stay at home from today until Sunday and need to have their temperatures taken repeatedly, Seoul-based specialized website NK News reported, citing a government document.

This text does not mention Covid-19, but states that dysentery is among the new diseases currently on the rise in the capital.

Citing sources in Pyongyang, the NK News website reported yesterday Tuesday that residents of North Korea’s largest city appeared to be stockpiling in anticipation of a possible lockdown.

It is not known if similar restrictions are being introduced in other areas, and state media has not announced new measures.

The Korean peninsula is currently experiencing what meteorologists are calling the Siberian cold wave, with temperatures in Pyongyang dropping to -22 degrees Celsius.

Pyongyang announced its first case of Covid-19 in May 2022 and declared victory over the disease three months later.

The World Health Organization has long disputed Pyongyang’s Covid statistics and the country’s claims that the epidemic is under control.

According to expert sources, Pyongyang has not vaccinated about 25 million people. According to other information, the country received vaccines from China.

^{According to AFP, APE-MPE}