Coronavirus: Kim-Jong-un orders national lockdown after North Korea reports first Covid-19 case
- Until Thursday, Kim Jong-un’s regime denied it had any Covid cases, a claim doubted by experts globally. It has also refused vaccines from the outside world
- A widespread Covid-19 outbreak in North Korea could potentially be devastating given the country has an antiquated healthcare system and likely no vaccines
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered all cities to be put under lockdown after the state for the first time on Thursday said it has Covid-19 in its borders.
The Korean Central News Agency said tests from an unspecified number of people in the capital Pyongyang confirmed they were infected with the Omicron variant.
“A serious situation has been created due to the introduction of a stealth Omicron mutant virus into our precincts,” KCNA said. At a party meeting on Thursday attended by Kim, authorities elevated the country’s national quarantine measures to “maximum emergency,” it added.
Kim ordered “all cities and counties across the country to thoroughly lockdown their areas,” so as to “completely block the transmission of [a] malicious virus,” according to KCNA.
China said on Thursday it was ready to “fully support” North Korea in its pandemic prevention efforts.
“We sympathise with the current [coronavirus] outbreak situation in North Korea,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular presser.
“As comrades, neighbours and friends, China is ready to provide full support and assistance to North Korea in its fight against the epidemic,” Zhao said, without offering details on whether Beijing will send vaccines, medical equipment or aid.
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Until Thursday, Kim’s regime had denied it had any Covid cases, a claim doubted by experts in the US, Japan and other countries. It has also refused vaccines from the outside world, with reports saying planned shipments have been put on hold because North Korea was unwilling to follow rules by Covax, a body backed by the World Health Organization.
In August 2020, North Korea said it was pushing ahead with the development of a vaccine against the virus, but has given scant mention of vaccines since then. Any Covid-19 outbreak in North Korea, if widespread, could potentially be devastating given the country has an antiquated healthcare system and likely no vaccines.
The outbreak may also help answer a pressing question about the severity of the highly-infectious Omicron variant that is currently circumventing the world. Scientists are split about whether the strain is less dangerous than the original pathogen that emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, or whether vaccinations and immunity from previous infections has neutered its impact.
Covid-19 fears halt China-North Korea border rail crossings
Despite the decision to elevate antivirus steps, Kim ordered officials to push ahead with scheduled construction, agricultural development and other state projects while bolstering the country’s defence postures to avoid any security vacuum.
Kim said officials must also formulate steps to ease any public inconveniences and other negative situations that could flare as a result of the boosted anti-pandemic measures. Kim said that “the single-minded public unity is the most powerful guarantee that can win in this anti-pandemic fight,” KCNA said.
To keep the virus from entering its territory, North Korea had closed its border to nearly all trade and visitors for two years that further shocked an economy already damaged by decades of mismanagement and crippling US-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile programme.
North Korea in January tentatively reopened railroad freight traffic between its border town of Sinuiju and China’s Dandong, but China announced a halt to the trade last month as it deals with a spread of Covid-19 in Dandong.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
