Authorities in the North Korean capital Pyongyang have ordered this a five-day lockdown due to surge in cases of “unspecified respiratory illness”: Seoul-based NK News reported, citing a government alert, the first in eight months, the online warhead notes.
Yesterday, the same media outlets reported on people being informed of the impending closure and intending to stock up on goods, as if worried it might go beyond the advertised timeframe. The statement said that the common cold is among the diseases currently widespread in the capital, while there is no mention of Covid-19.
Residents must remain in their homes until Sunday and undergo temperature checks several times a day, according to the notice seen to NK. It is unclear whether other cities have also been declared on lockdown and state media has yet to announce the new measures.
North Korea said last August it had completely eradicated Covid-19 from its territory, a claim experts say is “highly unlikely”.
A similar notice issued in early May 2022, when Covid-19 cases first exploded across the country, did not specify the length of the lockdown, which ultimately lasted two weeks.
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