North Korea has officially closed some “public amenities” such as the brand new Yangdok Hot Springs Resort in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, state media announced on Thursday.
“As part of the emergency effort for preventing COVID-19, the DPRK government on Feb 25 imposed a temporary ban on the operation of public amenities,” according to the English-language Pyongyang Times.
“As a result, the Yangdok Hot Spring Resort does not receive tourists except bathers,” the article said, without elaborating on the length or extent of the resort’s closure, or what “bathers” will be allowed in.
In addition, “public service facilities including the Rungna People’s Recreation Ground, Rungna Dolphinarium and People’s Open-air Ice Rink shut down for the time being,” it added.
The closures do not appear to have been reported in any other North Korean state media outlets, either in English or Korean.
North Korea’s primary party-run outlet the Rodong Sinmun also reported on Friday that efforts were underway to “carry out…national measures to extend the vacations of students in order to block in advance the spread of the disease.”
The report did not mention when the school year would start, but the Daily NK reported last week that, according to a source inside the country, “all childcare centers, preschools, primary and secondary schools along with universities outside of Pyongyang will be closed for one month starting Feb. 20.”
Friday’s Rodong report also said that there are still no confirmed cases of the COVID-19, though the outlet reported on Wednesday that “people who returned from abroad and contacted with foreigners and those who show abnormal symptoms are also isolated for medical observation and checkup.”
The Daily NK and other outlets relying on in-country North Korean sources have, however, reported on various suspected cases of infections and even deaths from the coronavirus, though none have been independently confirmed.
State media, meanwhile, continues to report extensively on the outbreak of the virus in neighboring countries and across the world, as well as provide daily updates on prevention efforts and policies citizens should follow to stay healthy and avoid infection.
State media has published several documentaries and dozens of stories on exclusively domestic tourists from all walks of life reportedly enjoying vacations at the Yangdok Hot Springs Resort since it opened in early January | Image: KCNA
The temporary closure of the Yangdok Hot Springs Resort comes just under two months after it first opened to domestic tourists and after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony in December.
No foreign tour groups are known to have visited the resort so far, however, despite expectations its rapid construction completed in under a year was carried out in order to secure foreign currency earnings through tourism during this winter season.
The opening of another tourist resort built on a much larger scale than Yangdok — the Wonsan-Kalma beach resort, set for an April 15 opening to celebrate the birthday of founding leader Kim Il Sung — is also looking at a likely delay amid the coronavirus scare.
In a related move, tour agencies announced last week that North Korean authorities have canceled the upcoming spring marathon in Pyongyang scheduled for April 12.
North Korea has officially closed some “public amenities” such as the brand new Yangdok Hot Springs Resort in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, state media announced on Thursday.
“As part of the emergency effort for preventing COVID-19, the DPRK government on Feb 25 imposed a temporary ban on the operation of public amenities,” according to the English-language Pyongyang Times.
