North Korea has tested 2,767 people for COVID-19 and they all came up “negative” for having the virus as of Aug. 20, the World Health Organization (WHO) told NK News on Thursday.

29,961 people have been released from quarantine as of Aug. 20, according to WHO Representative in the DPRK Edwin Salvador. This brings up the number of those quarantined so far in North Korea to at least 30,965.

NK News asked Salvador whether the redefector found in Kaesong, who was “suspected” of having COVID-19 in July, was tested again for the virus or ultimately diagnosed with COVID-19. Salvador said that WHO “did not get details” on the case from the DPRK government yet after test results came up as “inconclusive.”

According to Salvador, 1,004 people are still under quarantine as of Aug. 20, and all of them are North Korean nationals. In the week prior to that, more than 3,700 were released from quarantine, “including first and second contacts of the suspected case in Kaesong,” he said.

Salvador added that several North Korean public health measures are still in place, including the mandatory use of masks in all public spaces. Laborers coming in contact with goods arriving into the country are also still being quarantined, according to WHO.

WHO also confirmed an earlier report from UNICEF that the Dalian-Nampho sea route remains closed at the moment. Salvador explained that the North Korean government decided to close the route because COVID-19 cases were detected at the Dalian port in China. 

“Supplies coming to Nampho seaport remains suspended, as there are no ships sailing in,” he said.

Meanwhile, “all international borders” for the country remain closed along with the Nampho-Dalian route, WHO told NK News, adding that “only COVID-19 related shipments are being allowed through the Sinuiju-Dandong [land] border.”

The North Korean government “reviewed the situation earlier this week and decided to further strengthen its anti-epidemic measures and take emergency measures to prepare for the typhoon,” Salvador said. 

If it’s true that North Korea recently tightened border controls, humanitarian aid projects that recently received sanctions exemptions may be difficult to realize. Some of the projects are unrelated to COVID-19 prevention, and most of the projects require goods to be shipped to the DPRK.

Some aid projects are more time-sensitive than others, such as those related to agricultural assistance and disease prevention.

Despite the border closure, a new set of 25,000 COVID-19 test kits have arrived in Sinuiju, Salvador said, though he did not give the exact date of the arrival. The diagnostic equipment is set to be delivered to Pyongyang after disinfection.

“WHO has so far provided primers and probes for 1,000 COVID-19 tests, 2,900 PPEs and laboratory reagents that were procured from China,” Salvador told NK News. WHO is also set to provide six PCR machines, 20 oxygen concentrators and 600 infrared thermometers to the country.

Edited by Kelly Kasulis