North Korea detected its first “suspicious” case of Covid-19 in a deserter who returned to the country after fleeing to the South, a fact that has led the regime to adopt the “maximum emergency system”, as reported today by the state media.
The possible contagion affects a “fled” North Korean citizen who arrived on July 19 in the city of Kaesong, bordering the South, after having crossed the militarized demarcation that separates both countries, according to the North Korean state agency KCNA.
In this situation, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, chaired a meeting of the North Korean Workers Party leadership the day before in which it was decided to “completely block” the Kaesong area and move from the “state of emergency against the epidemic” to the “maximum emergency system”, according to KCNA.
The patient was placed under “strict quarantine” after they were practiced various medical tests with “uncertain results”, and North Korean authorities have also carried out tests and isolated all people who had contact with him, the state agency added.
“Despite the intense anti-epidemic measures applied in all areas and the strict closure of all routes of entry in the last six months, there has been a critical situation whereby the aggressive virus could have entered the country,” said Kim during the meeting held this Saturday.
In addition to the “total blockade” of Kaesong city, where the inter-Korean liaison office was located, which the North destroyed in mid-June in retaliation for the sending of balloon propaganda by activists from the South, Kim ordered “to isolate other districts and regions “of the country as of Saturday.
North Korea had launched its “national emergency system” last January to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in its territory, leading to the complete closure of its land borders.
Even if the true situation of the pandemic in the country is unknownTo date, the hermetic regime has not officially notified the World Health Organization of any case of Covid-19 in its territory.
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