North Korea locks down the whole country after recording the first cases of COVID-19

North Korea officially recorded an outbreak of COVID-19 for the first time – Photo: REUTERS

Kim asked “all cities and districts across the country to completely blockade their areas”.

In addition, factories, businesses and homes need to be locked down and reorganized to completely prevent the spread of the virus.

Before, KCNA reported Kim Jong Un announced the latest outbreak during the meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea. This outbreak is thought to be caused by the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron.

“The biggest emergency incident occurred in the country, with a hole in our emergency isolation front, which was preserved for the past 2 years and 3 months from February 2020,” KCNA said. said.

According to KCNA, some residents in the capital Pyongyang were infected with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, without providing details about the number of cases or the source of infection.

KCNA reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un chaired a meeting of the Workers’ Party to discuss responses to the first outbreak of COVID-19.

According to AFP news agency, KCNA said that samples taken from fever patients in Pyongyang on May 8 “consistent with” the Omicron variant.

The country’s top officials, including leader Kim Jong Un, have announced they will deploy a “maximum emergency” system to control the virus.

According to KCNA, Kim said during the meeting that “the goal is to eradicate the root in the shortest possible time”, while ensuring that the North “will definitely overcome the emergency and win the project of the emergency cup”.

KCNA said Mr Kim had called for containment and control measures. He is said to have urged citizens to “completely prevent the spread of the virulent virus by thoroughly locking down their areas in all cities and districts across the country”.

The North Korean news agency announced that all production and business activities will be strictly organized, so each working unit will be “isolated” to prevent the disease from spreading.