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North Korea outlines quarantine measures for COVID-19

International experts have said North Korea is ill-equipped to deal with a massive outbreak of a deadly virus. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI
International experts have said North Korea is ill-equipped to deal with a massive outbreak of a deadly virus. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

March 5 (UPI) -- North Korea published information regarding mandatory quarantine policy despite official claims the country has "zero" cases of the new strain of coronavirus.

Minju Choson, a publication of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, stated Thursday patients infected with COVID-19 must be quarantined within six hours, while suspected coronavirus patients are to be quarantined within 24 hours.

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The publication also said the state's disease control agency could use discretion for certain cases.

"Given the nature of the epidemic, [some] patients approved by the agency can be quarantined in their homes," Minju Choson said.

North Korea also said marking the door of a patient's house, or hospital ward, as a space of quarantine for COVID-10, is mandatory. Once a site is marked, only medical staff would be permitted to enter and exit the patient's quarters, state media said.

Pyongyang's new measures are being made public following the end of a month-long quarantine for foreign diplomats in Pyongyang.

Joachim Bergstrom, Sweden's ambassador to North Korea, tweeted a photo of himself in the North Korean capital on Wednesday.

"I have never been happier standing on Kim Il Sung Square," Bergstrom tweeted. By Thursday, the original tweet appeared to have been deleted.

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International experts have said North Korea is ill-equipped to deal with a massive outbreak of a deadly virus. South Korea has offered assistance, and South Korea-based NGOs are likely working with international aid groups to supply goods to the impoverished North.

As the number of cases surpassed 6,000 in the South, however, frustration may be growing over the increasing scarcity of face masks.

Yonhap reported Thursday Seoul's unification ministry issued a statement regarding masks, which have been banned from export to other countries.

The ministry said there have been no cases of masks being exported to North Korea, and called the claims "fake news."

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