North Korea has imposed a five-day lockdown on the nation’s capital, Pyongyang, due to an increase in cases of an unidentified respiratory disease.
The Seoul-based site that covers North Korea, reported that citizens were expected to stay in their houses until the end of Sunday and subject to several temperature checks every day, citing a government proclamation as Reported by Aljazeera on Wednesday.
North Korea did not specifically identify COVID-19 in the notice, but it did not do so during its initial outbreak last year when it just mentioned “fever” instances.
According to the Report on Tuesday, amid rumors of a lockdown, residents of the capital looked to be “panic-buying food in big amounts.”
Due to restricted testing capabilities, North Korea recognized its first COVID-19 epidemic last year but did not provide the precise number of cases. In August, it announced “winning” over the pandemic.
State media has not yet covered the lockdown order, but has continued to cover anti-pandemic tactics to combat respiratory illnesses like the flu.
In recent days, Pyongyang residents were seen at celebrations for the Lunar New Year wearing face masks, some of them double-masking or donning masks of a higher grade, according to NK News.
The city of Kaesong, which is close to the South Korean border, reportedly increased public awareness campaigns on Tuesday “so that all working people voluntarily respect anti-epidemic regulations in their job and lives.”