North Korean authorities have swiftly moved to implement quarantines and other measures after a suspected outbreak of COVID-19 occurred among a group of students who participated in a Youth Day event on Aug. 28 in Hamhung, Daily NK has learned.
“Some university students from downtown Hamhung who attended a Youth Day event on Aug. 28 began exhibiting symptoms such as fevers,” a source in South Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Tuesday. “This was immediately reported to the Central Anti-epidemic Committee, and the authorities ordered [the young people] to self-quarantine or quarantine in groups.”
According to the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons, an event to celebrate Youth Day was held in Hamhung on the evening of Aug. 28. At first, participants wore masks in accordance with instructions from the authorities, but many took them off as they began to dance. Two days later, some of the students suddenly complained of symptoms similar to those associated with COVID-19, including fevers.
Students with COVID-19 symptoms sought out medicine sellers or went to hospitals. Hospital authorities initially believed the students had simply come down with the flu, but later reported the situation to their superiors as the number of patients with unusual symptoms began to rise, the source said.
South Hamgyong Province’s Anti-epidemic Committee then informed the Central Anti-epidemic Committee about the situation. Suspecting something was amiss, the committee reportedly ordered local disease control authorities to identify all those who had participated in the Youth Day event and check their temperatures.
“This led to around 40 students being classified as severe cases, and around 120 as mild cases,” the source said. “The authorities also ordered all patients exhibiting unusual symptoms to be quarantined, so the 40 or so severe cases were immediately isolated as a group in a sanatorium in Sapo District, while the other 120 or so were placed under self-quarantine.”
With the school semester (originally) set to begin on Sep. 1, the South Hamgyong Province’s Anti-epidemic Command and the province’s education department instructed families with anyone quarantined either at home or in the sanatorium to refrain from sending their children to school, according to the source.
THE BLAME GAME
“Families who have relatives in quarantine are asking whether the provincial party committee and the [Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist] Youth League were in their right minds for holding that kind of event during a pandemic and when strict quarantine measures are being emphasized [by the authorities],” the source said. “They think these organizations should be held responsible.”
The Central Anti-epidemic Committee is of the view that the event would not have caused an outbreak if the attendees had properly observed infectious disease prevention guidelines. The committee is asking hard questions to South Hamgyong Province’s Youth League about the incident, according to the source. “The committee is also pointing the finger at the authorities in South Hamgyong Province for failing to effectively implement infectious disease control measures,” he added.
Provincial party officials are reportedly fearful of being reprimanded by the central government due to the location and timing of the suspected outbreak: It occurred in Hamhung, rather than at a location near the Sino-North Korean border, and there is only around a month left before Party Foundation Day on Oct. 10.
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