Kim Jong-un warns of 'serious consequences' if coronavirus spreads to North Korea

North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un has called for stronger efforts to guard against global coronavirus outbreak, saying there will be "serious consequences" if the epidemic outbreak spreads to the country. North Korea has not reported a single case of COVID-19, which has killed more than 2,800 people and infected over 84,000 people in dozens of countries since it emerged in neighbouring China, Al Jazeera reported. However, a news report on Saturday claimed that Kim Jong-un sanctioned for the execution of the first person who tested positive for the deadly virus. 

During a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, Kim called for the country's anti-epidemic headquarters to strengthen screening and to seal off all "channels and space through which the infectious disease may find its way," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Saturday. "In case the infectious disease spreading beyond control finds its way into our country, it will entail serious consequences," KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

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Pyongyang has been pushing a tough anti-virus campaign it has described as a matter of "national existence". The country has shut down nearly all cross-border traffic, banned tourists, intensified screening at entry points and mobilised tens of thousands of health workers to monitor residents and isolate those with symptoms. It has also placed hundreds of foreigners in quarantine to prevent an outbreak. Experts say an epidemic in North Korea could be dire because of the country's chronic lack of medical supplies and poor healthcare infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the German Embassy, French Cooperation Office, and Swiss Development Cooperation are in close cooperation with each other to evacuate all quarantined foreign diplomats from North Korea. The exact number of foreign diplomats stationed inside North Korea is unknown but is estimated to be just a few hundred. The country previously announced that all foreigners would be quarantined for 30 days, after quickly closing its borders at the onset of the coronavirus outbreak. 

US to help North Korea 

The United States promised to support and encourage the aid work in North Korea to “counter and contain” spread of novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in the region. Citing North’s vulnerability to the deadly virus, State Department spokesperson Morgan Orgatus, in a statement, said that the US “strongly support” and “encourage” the work of national and international health organisations to combat coronavirus. “The United States is ready and prepared to expeditiously facilitate the approval of assistance from these organizations,” said Orgatus.

Over 1,300 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed outside China in the past 24 hours taking the number of those infected with the virus outside the Asian nation to 6009, announced the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday. Of the 6009 cases outside China, 1318 are new cases of COVID-19, the WHO situation report (with data reported by 10 am on February 29) said. There have been a total of 86 deaths from the coronavirus disease outside of China, 19 of them occurred in the past 24 hours. According to the situation report, Mexico and San Marino reported their first coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. A total of 53 countries, apart from China, have been affected. Over 85,400 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed globally. 

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(With AP inputs)