North Korean authorities have ordered a nationwide lockdown on Thursday in response to its first confirmed coronavirus infection since the beginning of the health crisis.
The situation comes to end the country's two years of claiming that it has had a perfect record of keeping the virus out of its territory. Officials did not immediately reveal the extent or size of the outbreak in the region. However, it could result in severe consequences due to the nation's poor health care system.
North Korea's First COVID-19 Case
Furthermore, North Korea is home to roughly 26 million people, the majority of whom are believed to be unvaccinated against the coronavirus. Experts said that the North, by its rare admission of a COVID-19 outbreak, might be trying to get help from other countries.
The official Korean Central News Agency said that tests of samples were collected on Sunday from an unspecified number of people that reported fevers in the capital, Pyongyang. It was then that authorities confirmed the coronavirus in the region is the Omicron variant, as per the Associated Press.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said during a ruling party Politburo meeting that he was calling for a thorough lockdown of cities and counties. He added that workplaces should immediately be isolated by units to block the virus from spreading to other areas.
Kim also urged health workers to step up their disinfection efforts at workplaces and homes and mobilize reserve medical supplies to assist citizens. The leader said that it was of utmost importance to stabilize transmissions and eliminate the source of the infection as quickly as possible.
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According to CNN, the Politburo criticized the nation's anti-epidemic sector for alleged "carelessness, laxity, irresponsibility, and incompetence." It said that the sector "failed to respond sensitively" to increasing COVID-19 cases worldwide, including in neighboring countries.
In a statement, Kim said North Korea would be able to overcome the unexpected COVID-19 outbreak. The region has relied on its series of draconian public health measures to prevent the infection from taking over its territory.
Draconian Measures
Since January 2020, North Korea's borders have been closed to keep infections from other countries from entering the region. This is despite the knock-on effects on trade with Beijing, an economic lifeline the impoverished country needs to keep its citizens from starving.
After closing its borders, the North later began allowing cargo trains to bring in desperately-needed imports from China earlier this year. The region also held a huge nighttime military parade late last month. During which, the soldiers, members of the elite, and tens of thousands of people who mobilized to watch did not appear to wear face masks.
Soon after the massive event, signs of potential trouble began to leak out, inciting rumors that the virus has finally breached the country's borders. Last week, South Korean intelligence officials said that authorities from the North were ordering people on the streets to return home and stay home.
Furthermore, the director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, Park Jie-won, said that North Korea had once again banned cargo trains from China from entering its territory, the New York Times reported.
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