North Korea reportedly has its very first case of COVID-19.
Kim Jung Un is ON IT, people! Kim Jung Un, not one to mess around, has already declared an emergency and locked down the city where the person entered.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared an emergency and a lockdown in a border town after a person suspected of being infected with the novel coronavirus returned from South Korea after illegally crossing the border, state media said on Sunday.
If confirmed, it would be the first case officially acknowledged by North Korean authorities.
My biggest question is… who in the hell returns to North Korea??? Once you get out, why would you EVER come back?
Kim convened an emergency politburo meeting in response to what he called a “critical situation in which the vicious virus could be said to have entered the country”, the North’s KCNA state news reported.
A person who defected to South Korea three years ago returned across the fortified border that divides the two Koreas to the town of Kaesong this month with symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, KCNA reported.
“An emergency event happened in Kaesong City where a runaway who went to the south three years ago, a person who is suspected to have been infected with the vicious virus returned on July 19 after illegally crossing the demarcation line,” KCNA said.
North Korea is utterly unprepared for a widespread virus outbreak.
One analyst said the announcement was important, not only because North Korea was for the first time reporting a suspected coronavirus case but also because it suggested it was appealing for help.
“It’s an ice-breaking moment for North Korea to admit a case,” said Choo Jae-woo, a professor at Kyung Hee University.
“It could be reaching out to the world for help. Perhaps for humanitarian assistance.”
North Korea is under huge economic pressure because of international sanctions over its nuclear program.
I feel bad for the military unit guarding the area where the defector slipped back into the country. The unit responsible will reportedly suffer “severe punishment”.
The person suspected to have COVID-19 is allegedly in quarantine. My guess is this poor person, if not already dead, will be soon. And I wouldn’t put it past North Korea to have everyone who he or she came into contact with killed as well.
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