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SEOUL: North Korea has warned its citizens to stay indoors, saying that seasonal yellow dust blowing from China could carry the new coronavirus into the country.
“As new coronavirus infections continue to spread around the world, the need to deal with yellow dust and take comprehensive measures has become more critical,” the North Korean party’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said on Thursday.
The claim that the virus that causes Covid-19 could spread to North Korea from the Gobi desert, 1,900 km away, does not seem supported. Two meters is a common social distancing metric, although the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that droplets containing the virus can sometimes linger in the air for hours.
The North Korean newspaper said that citizens should refrain from outdoor activities and follow prevention guidelines, such as wearing masks when going out.
North Korea has not reported confirmed cases of coronavirus, a claim that health experts question. Pyongyang has imposed strict border controls and quarantine measures to prevent an outbreak. Analysts say an outbreak could be devastating for the economically and politically isolated country.
State television KRT said on Wednesday that yellow dust and fine dust can contain harmful substances, such as heavy metals and pathogenic microorganisms, including viruses.
“People should pay attention to personal hygiene after returning from abroad,” said an announcer. “Additionally, workers should avoid outdoor construction jobs, even at reconstruction sites.”
On Thursday, the Russian embassy in North Korea wrote on Facebook that the North Korean Foreign Ministry had ordered all visitors to the country and its staff to wait for the dust storm to pass inside.
