News Desk: North Korea has lifted a mask mandate and eased other virus restrictions, state media said Saturday, days after leader Kim Jong Un declared “victory” over Covid-19.
The announcement comes after Pyongyang earlier this week blamed Seoul for causing the Covid-19 outbreak in the North and threatened to “wipe out” the South Korean authorities, if necessary.
Virus restrictions were eased as “the public health crisis created in the country was completely defused and its whole territory was turned into a clean one free from the malignant virus in the shortest period,” Pyongyang's official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
North Korea declared a “shining victory” over Covid earlier this week just months after announcing its first cases in May.
Social distancing and other anti-virus measures were also lifted except for border regions.
But people with symptoms of respiratory disease were recommended to wear masks and North Koreans were urged to “remain vigilant” against “abnormal things” — apparently referring to propaganda leaflets from the South.
Despite a ban that took effect in 2021, South Korean activists for years have flown balloons carrying propaganda leaflets and dollars over the border, which the North has long protested against.
North Korea has one of the world's worst healthcare systems, with poorly equipped hospitals and few intensive care units, experts say.
