North Korea’s police state hints at virus victory - Asia Times
▻https://asiatimes.com/2020/06/north-koreas-police-state-hints-at-covid-19-victory
North Korea, one of the most isolated states on earth, releases minimal data to the global community, making everything from its annual gross domestic product (GDP) to the whereabouts of its leader sources of speculation among Pyongyangologists in Seoul, Tokyo, Washington and elsewhere.Though North Korea has so not, so far, reported a single infection or death from Covid-19, indications are that it has taken the viral disease – as it did earlier pandemics such as SARS – very seriously.
It was one of the first countries to close its borders as the pandemic spread, and in the early stages quarantined foreign residents in a compound in Pyongyang. Meanwhile, the state TV network has been running repeated messaging on how to prevent outbreaks.
While it is impossible to guess how many infections or deaths North Korea has suffered, there have been signals of outbreaks. Reports from Daily NK, a website that gathers information from citizens in the country via smuggled cellphones, has reported related matters including the postponement of a major military parade and soldiers suffering Covid-like symptoms.The country has an underfunded healthcare system and a population that is significantly afflicted with malnutrition – a factor that weakens immune systems – but is systemically well equipped to deal with pandemics, experts say.
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