North Korea has so far tested 3,374 people for COVID-19 as of Sept. 17, and every test has produced “negative results,” a World Health Organization representative told NK News on Wednesday.
The latest numbers suggest that roughly 600 more people have been tested since the last WHO update in late August. Another 610 people — all North Korean nationals — are in quarantine as of Sept. 17, according to Edwin Salvador, the in-country WHO representative Pyongyang.
WHO also said that 31,163 people have been released from quarantine, 382 of whom were foreigners.
North Korea’s border lockdown has been in place for more than 240 days now, and all international borders “remain closed,” Salvador stated in an email.
“Only COVID-19 related shipments are being allowed through [the] Sinuiju-Dandong border,” he added. The Nampho-Dalian sea route was shut down since at least late July, and the port of Nampho on the western coast of North Korea is also still closed, he said.
Meanwhile, North Koreans and other residents are in the DPRK are still required to wear face masks in public spaces across the country, Salvador stated, and COVID-19 related measures such as temperature checks are still in place.
Last month, WHO had told NK News that 2,767 people had been tested for COVID-19 and that 29,961 were released from quarantine as of Aug. 20.
Friday’s numbers show that around 1,200 more North Korean nationals have been released from quarantine in the past month.
Per usual, WHO did not reveal the exact number of how many people have been quarantined and only reported on the number of those released. WHO on Friday did not respond to an inquiry by NK News asking whether anyone had died during their quarantine.
So far, North Korea has never officially acknowledged any confirmed cases of COVID-19 within its borders. In July, state media reported on a “suspected” case in the city of Kaesong from a redefector who swam across the Imjin River from South Korea.
However, WHO told NK News in early August that the redefector’s test came out “inconclusive.” Since then, no further details were shared.
North Korea has so far tested 3,374 people for COVID-19 as of Sept. 17, and every test has produced “negative results,” a World Health Organization representative told NK News on Wednesday.
The latest numbers suggest that roughly 600 more people have been tested since the last WHO update in late August. Another 610 people — all North Korean nationals — are in quarantine as of Sept. 17, according to Edwin Salvador, the in-country WHO representative Pyongyang.
Jeongmin Kim is a correspondent at NK News, based in Seoul. She previously worked for the CSIS Korea Chair and in the Seoul bureau of Reuters news agency. Follow her on Twitter @jeongminnkim
