North Korea has finally been hit by Covid-19 and it is blaming the outbreak on ‘unusual items’ that were allegedly placed on the South Korea border.
The outbreak was first announced two months ago, but many things remained unclear due to the isolation of the country in terms of media.
North Korea’s Emergency Epidemic Prevention Headquarters, which had been investigating the outbreak, said Friday it had started in the Ipho-ri area of Kumgang County. The first two cases were an 18-year-old soldier and a 5-year-old child.
Reports stated that the two began showing symptoms after they came in contact with “unusual items” on a hill near the border in early April. However, there has been no description of the items. The report also urged citizens “to vigilantly deal with unusual items coming by wind and other climate phenomena and balloons” into the country.
In late April, a North Korean defectors’ activist group based in South Korea, claimed it had sent large balloons carrying anti-North Korea leaflets and medicine across the border without the required approval.
According to the CDC, the risk of becoming infected through contact with objects is very low.
