Thursday, April 10th, 2025

North Korea declares state of emergency after first ‘suspected’ COVID-19 case


26 July 2020  

Time taken to read : 2 Minute


  • A
  • A
  • A

SEOUL: North Korea has for the first time acknowledged a suspected case of COVID-19 within its borders, after a defector suspected of having the virus returned from South Korea earlier this month.

“An emergency event happened in Kaesong City where a runaway who went to the south three years ago, a person who is suspected to have been infected with the vicious virus, returned on July 19 after illegally crossing the demarcation line,” state news agency KCNA said

Until now, Pyongyang had insisted that not a single infection had breached the country’s borders, which remain closed, media reports said.

Following the news of the possible infection, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un convened an emergency politburo meeting, declared a state of emergency, and imposed a lockdown on the border city of Kaesong.

KCNA did not confirm whether the individual had been tested, but said that an “uncertain result” from a medical checkup had prompted officials to quarantine the person and trace his contacts.

(With inputs from agencies)

Publish Date : 26 July 2020 06:07 AM

Lightning kills one, injures seven in Doti

DOTI: A woman was killed and seven others, including four

Rain and landslides obstruct several highways

KATHMANDU: Landslides triggered by overnight rainfall have blocked several highways

Nepali Army’s Gorkha-Jitgadhi Unification March begins

GORKHA: The Nepali Army (NA) has commenced the third historic

‘Secularism’ was a compromise in Constitution drafting: Gagan Thapa

KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Gagan Thapa has revealed

RSP discussing general convention in Secretariat meeting

KATHMANDU: The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is holding a Secretariat