North Korea confines the inhabitants of its capital for a “respiratory disease”

The inhabitants of Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, they will be confined for five days due to a “respiratory disease” that would not be related to covid-19.

From Wednesday to Sunday, citizens will not be able to leave their homes, and must undergo several daily temperature controls. This was announced in a Korean government statement.

The government order came a day after NK News reported that residents of the largest North Korean city appeared to be stockpiling food in anticipation of the lockdown.

The reason for the confinement could be a common flu, since Pyongyang is currently facing a cold wave with temperatures reaching -22º Celsius. It is not known if the same measures apply in other areas of the country.

Although mobility restrictions have nothing to do with covid-19, the World Health Organization questions the Asian country’s statistics on the virus.

North Korea has one of the worst healthcare systems in the world, with poorly equipped hospitals, few intensive care units and a lack of coronavirus drugs.

However, Kim Jong Un claimed last August to have won complete victory over the respiratory virus, and lifted the restrictions just three months after health authorities detected his first case of infection.

(YO)