North Korea announces first outbreak in its territory in months after easing restrictions on its border with China
North Korean authorities today claimed that the first outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic in the country began when people touched “foreign objects” near the border with South Korea, apparently blaming the Seoul epidemic.
Pyongyang, in announcing the results of its investigation, asked the North Koreans “to deal with foreign objects arriving due to air and other climatic phenomena and balloons in the areas along the demilitarized zone and the border“, Broadcast the KCNA agency.
The agency did not specifically mention South Korea, but North Koreans who managed to leave the country and activists have been throwing balloons carrying leaflets and humanitarian aid from the country for years. South Korea to the North.
The South Korean Ministry of Unification replied that “there is no possibility” that the coronavirus entered North Korea through these leaflets.
According to the KCNA, an 18-year-old soldier and a 5-year-old boy who touched unknown objects in eastern Kumgang County in early April then developed symptoms and tested positive for covid-19.
The North Korean news agency reported that all other cases of fever reported in the country as of mid-April were due to other illnesses, without giving further details.
«It is difficult to believe North Korea’s claims, as from a scientific point of view the probability of the virus being transmitted through objects is small.Said Yang Mu-jin, a professor of North Korean Studies at Seoul University.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has indicated that the risk of people becoming infected with covid-19 through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects is generally small, although this is possible.
North Korea announced the first outbreak of the epidemic in its territory months after easing restrictions on its border with China.
Pyongyang reports that the epidemic seems to be receding, although experts estimate that the cases are not recorded properly.
Today, North Korean authorities said another 4,570 people had symptoms of fever, bringing the total number of patients since the end of April to 4.74 million.
Pyongyang reports daily the number of patients who develop a fever, without specifying whether they have been infected with covid-19 due to the lack of diagnostic tests for the disease.
Check out the news feed and stay up to date with the latest news.
