North Korea continues to claim that it is COVID-free after screening an additional 1,492 people, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday, as the total tested in the country hovers just short of 50,000.

The release of the latest figures comes after North Korea held a high-profile party meeting last week, at which leader Kim Jong Un said Pyongyang’s “number one priority” in the new year remains “emergency anti-epidemic work.” The DPRK has maintained strict pandemic measures since Jan. 2020, when the country largely shut its borders.

In its COVID-19 situation report published on Monday, the WHO