Mick Hartley

With China suffering a Covid surge, can North Korea escape the same fate?

But Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un has already declared that the battle against Covid has been fought and won…

North Korean authorities are intensifying restrictions in regions of the country bordering China following the skyrocketing of people suffering from coronavirus-like symptoms, Daily NK has learned.

According to multiple sources in North Korea last Friday, the number of people complaining of high-fever, coughs, respiratory difficulties and sore throats has soared in regions along the border with China, such as Sinuiju and Sakju, as well as in the port of Nampo, through which much of North Korea’s trade with China is conducted.

When someone first comes down with fever, the case is reported to the local neighborhood watch unit and health clinic, but the country’s quarantine agencies are not providing diagnoses or treatments beyond simple temperature checks.

North Korean authorities do not conduct diagnostic tests even if patients present COVID-19 symptoms, making it difficult for fever patients to accurately determine if they have the coronavirus or not….

North Koreans are not allowed to say what they are suffering from “seems to be COVID-19.” After North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared “victory” in the government’s war against the virus last year, people could face execution if they say COVID-19 has once again reared its head, the source told Daily NK….

“Everyone knows that COVID-19 entered the country as smuggling increased,” the source said, adding, “From the time COVID-19 cases started climbing in China, cases in places like Sinuiju and Sakju climbed exponentially as well.”