Representative Image- AP
Seoul: North Korea has ordered a five-day lockdown for Pyongyang residents starting Wednesday due to “rising” cases of respiratory illness.
The order comes a day after Seoul-based NK News reported on Wednesday reported that Pyongyang residents appeared to be stocking up on household goods expecting advance warning of lockdown. However, it is unclear if the lockdown has been imposed in other cities as well.
According to a government notice, residents have been directed to stay inside as illnesses currently spreading in the capital include the common cold. The report did not mention COVID-19.
North Korea has always stressed for long that the country is unaffected by the virus but it finally reported cases of COVID-19 last year and declared an end to it by August.
NK News noted that in recent days, Pyongyang residents pictured at events marking the Lunar New Year were wearing face masks, some of them double-masking or wearing masks of a higher grade.
According to state news agency KCNA “The city of Kaesong, near the border with South Korea, had on Tuesday intensified public communication campaigns “so that all the working people observe anti-epidemic regulations voluntarily in their work and life”.
As per media report, authorities boasted that workers would continue working at major construction projects and factories despite the restrictions during nationwide lockdown.
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