North Korea releases all foreign nationals from coronavirus quarantine

North Korea announced on April 18 that it has released all foreign nationals kept under quarantine in its effort to contain the coronavirus. According to KCNA, the authorities also released all citizens quarantined in the provinces of South Phyongan and North Hwanghae and the city of Rason.

The official state news agency has not disclosed any specific number regarding the number of citizens still under the country’s mandatory 30-day quarantine. Initially, Pyongyang had quarantined 380 foreigners and later arranged a special flight to fly out several diplomats out of the country to Vladivostok, Russia.

On April 11, Politburo members reportedly discussed on thorough state measures for saving the citizens from the pandemic that has claimed around 155,000 lives worldwide. According to KCNA, the Politburo discussed the coronavirus pandemic while cautioning that such an environment can become a condition creating some obstacles to our struggle and progress.

Read: North Korea Claims It Has Zero Coronavirus Case, Experts Sceptical

No COVID-19 case reported

Meanwhile, North Korea has continuously said that it has not reported a single case of coronavirus case so far which the Politburo reportedly called a result of country’s top-class emergency anti-epidemic measures from the outset. Last week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that it has been receiving weekly updates from the health ministry and the country even has the capacity to test coronavirus in its national reference laboratory in Pyongyang.

Read: Kim Jong Un Absent As North Korean Legislature Holds Third Session Amid Pandemic

Earlier, North’s senior health minister had also insisted that the country is free from coronavirus saying it does not have a single case of the disease. Pak Myong Su, director of the anti-epidemic department of the North’s Central Emergency Anti-Epidemic Headquarters, said that North Korea sealed its borders late January, shortly after the coronavirus outbreak news emerged from neighbouring China. 

According to the WHO website, North Korea, Lesotho, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan have not reported a single coronavirus case. However, several foreign experts have raised doubts over the veracity of report from North Korea, which shares a border with China and South Korea.

Read: North Korean Leader's Absence From Important Celebration Triggers Speculations

Read: WHO Representative: North Korea Is Testing For COVID-19, Has No Cases

(With agency inputs | Image source: AP)