North Korea is on edge as cases of COVID-19 spike in some regions of neighboring China, including Jilin Province.
A Daily NK source in Yanggang Province said Wednesday that the authorities recently ordered residents of Hyesan to “double mask” when they leave their homes. He said the authorities have bolstered enforcement, with violators forced to return home immediately.
According to the source, inminban (people’s units) across Hyesan have been holding meetings since Mar. 19. The meetings have been calling for “stronger quarantine efforts than ever” with cases COVID-19 spreading rapidly in China.
The meetings issued specific orders on how to disinfect the inside and outside of homes, adjusting concentrations of disinfectant in accordance with quarantine guidelines.
The order stressed that households should undergo inspection by the neighborhood health and sanitation chief every morning to ensure they are using the proper concentration and amount of disinfectant.
In particular, the authorities have begun underscoring the need for so-called “double masking,” with violators reportedly subject to KPW 10,000 fines on top of being forced to return home immediately.
However, experts say scientists have yet to verify that double masking (at least with certain types of masks) more effectively blocks viruses. Moreover, many experts call for caution out of concern that the practice could cause breathing difficulties.
The recent order once again appears to demonstrate North Korea’s propensity for excessive disease control procedures. The country has engaged in colorful propaganda since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, warning locals that “even flying birds can spread the virus” and that they should be wary “even of springtime yellow dust and snow.”
North Koreans are by and large unhappy about the measures, complaining that authorities have “once again sounded the alarm in the name of COVID-19” after a period of calm, and that COVID-19 could not possibly cross into North Korea from China “with the border locked and down and people unable to even gaze at the frontier.”
The source said people in the country — many of whom are dealing with food shortages — are “stunned” by the double masking order. Nevertheless, they are grudgingly complying because the only way they can survive is to go out and engage in business activities each and every day.
Meanwhile, household doctors have higher workloads, too. Last year, they had to perform temperature checks twice a day at households in neighborhoods under their care. Recently, however, they have been performing three checks and people with high fevers are sent to isolation facilities.
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