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North Korea
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North Korea orders lockdown in capital Pyongyang after respiratory illness outbreak

  • A government notice didn’t mention Covid-19, but said that residents in the city are required to stay in their homes through the end of Sunday
  • Pyongyang residents were seen stocking up on goods in anticipation. It’s unclear if other areas of the country have imposed new lockdowns

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Pyongyang’s skyline with the pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel seen in the distance. Authorities on Wednesday ordered a five-day lockdown of the North Korean capital after an unspecified respiratory illness outbreak. Photo: AFP
Reuters
Authorities in the North Korean capital Pyongyang have ordered a five-day lockdown due to rising cases of an unspecified respiratory illness, Seoul-based NK News reported on Wednesday, citing a government notice.

The notice did not mention Covid-19, but said that residents in the city are required to stay in their homes through the end of Sunday and must submit to temperature checks multiple times each day, according to NK News, which monitors North Korea.

On Tuesday, the website reported that Pyongyang residents appeared to be stocking up on goods in anticipation of stricter measures. It is unclear if other areas of the country have imposed new lockdowns.

People wearing face masks walk through the streets of Pyongyang earlier this month. The city’s residents were spotted stocking up on goods in anticipation of the lockdown. Photo: Kyodo
People wearing face masks walk through the streets of Pyongyang earlier this month. The city’s residents were spotted stocking up on goods in anticipation of the lockdown. Photo: Kyodo
North Korea acknowledged its first Covid-19 outbreak last year, but by August had declared victory over the virus.

The secretive country never confirmed how many people caught Covid, apparently because it lacks the means to conduct widespread testing.

Instead, it reported daily numbers of patients with fever, a tally that rose to some 4.77 million, out of a population of about 25 million. But it has not reported such cases since July 29.

State media have continued to report on anti-pandemic measures to battle respiratory diseases, including the flu, but had yet to report on the lockdown order.

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