North Korean authorities are tightening entry restrictions into Pyongyang as flu cases in the country surge, a source in the city told Daily NK last Thursday.
In response to the rapid rise in flu cases, the central government ordered local governments and medical agencies to draw up detailed measures for treating flu cases. The government also called on people complaining of high fever, coughs, phlegm, nasal congestion and sore throats to self-quarantine at home.
As part of these broader measures, authorities in Pyongyang are preventing anyone other than individuals on official business from entering the capital city, said the source.
Accordingly, personnel at “No. 10 checkpoints” — special Ministry of State Security checkpoints established to inspect inter-regional traffic — are conducting more thorough temperature checks and more intensive crackdowns on outsiders entering the capital than before.
According to the source, people with high fevers of 38 degrees or more are even being sent to quarantine facilities.
For example, a man in his 50s who tried to enter Pyongyang for medical treatment on Jan. 5 was caught in a quarantine inspection at a No. 10 checkpoint after displaying symptoms of high fever.
“Afterwards, he spent five days in isolation at a quarantine facility before being released,” the source said.
While North Korean authorities are pointing to the flu as the reason for tightening entry restrictions into Pyongyang, many people suspect the the measures are instead aimed at combating a rise in COVID-19 cases.
“People are saying the government is really conducting COVID-19 quarantine efforts but replacing the word ‘COVID-19’ with ‘the flu’ given moves to restart trade with China,” the source said. “Otherwise there would be no reason to isolate flu patients and restrict entry into Pyongyang.”
The source said checkpoints around the city are now taking everyone’s temperature and sending people with high fevers to quarantine facilities or back to their homes.
“Checkpoints are also closely inspecting whether people are hiding in cargo trucks in an effort to secretly slip into the capital city,” he added.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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