Global coronavirus cases top 16 million as UK defends Spain quarantine move
- Britain’s new rules took hold at midnight Saturday, hours after being announced, provoking anger and confusion among tourists
- At least 645,000 people around the world have succumbed to Covid-19, with the US the worst-hit country by far
The isolated, impoverished state had until now insisted it had not detected a single Covid-19 case – even as the pandemic swept the planet, overwhelming health systems and trashing the global economy.
At least 645,000 people around the world have succumbed to the respiratory disease, with North Korean arch-rival the United States the worst-hit country by far.
Authorities locked down the city of Kaesong, near the frontier with South Korea, as state media said a defector who left for the South three years ago had returned and was suspected to be infected with the coronavirus.
But experts believe the contagion is likely to have already entered North Korea from neighbouring China, where the new disease emerged late last year.
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