NK steps up to stave off MERS

An outbreak of Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome, or MERS, in South Korea has triggered officials in the North to take
preemptive measures, carrying out rigorous health checks across the country and
tightening movement within the country, Daily NK has learned. 

“There has been a lot of active awareness
campaigning along with prevention measures all across the country,” a Daily NK
source in South Pyongan Province reported on Wednesday. “It’s not only
provincial, city, and county hospitals, but small local clinics that are
carrying out daily tests on residents.”
 

This information was corroborated by
sources in two other provinces of North Korea, whose regions Daily NK has not disclosed for their safety.
 

The source said an emergency reporting
system for those with cold symptoms and fevers has been set up, while tests and
quarantine measures are being put in place. Doctors make rounds in their
designated neighborhoods to check people’s temperatures, ticking names off as
they go until making sure every last resident in their jurisdiction is
accounted for.
 

“They are minimizing the number of people
traveling for business at state-run enterprises, while halting the issuance of
new personal travel permits and cutting off access to Pyongyang altogether,”
the source explained. “For those who absolutely must travel to another region,
they need to receive a certificate from the provincial quarantine office
verifying they have received medical counseling about the disease and will adhere
to protocol aimed at its prevention and control.”

“Officials have limits on who they will
issue these certificates for, depending on the age of the residents and factory
workers,” she added. “For those who are in their 50s or older, in
addition to their quarantine certificates, they need to receive a health
certificate that proves they do not have a history of pneumonia or respiratory
diseases.”
 

Border control is also being tightened to
prevent the coronavirus from entering the country, according to the source. All
customs offices along the Sino-North Korea border are being strictly
monitored, while interviews or meetings with Chinese traders are also not
permitted. Trucks carrying in foreign goods are undergoing rigorous disinfection by quarantine
officials at the customs office.
 

Naturally, people
are concerned about the threat of the virus, concerned that its spread within the neighboring South portends an imminent infiltration into the North. “The South has good medical facilities and medicine, but if
people there are making such a fuss about it, we stand no chance if we see an
outbreak here,” residents have said, according to the source.
 

Meanwhile, Pyongyang didn’t miss out on its
opportunity to criticize Seoul about the outbreak, publishing a spread on
Party-run Rodong Sinmun entitled ‘The second Sewol Ferry tragedy stirs up fear
and anxiety.’