North Korea, one of the few countries in the world to have yet to report a single confirmed case of coronavirus, claims to continue to carry out screening tests and to have placed some 500 people in quarantine as a precaution, said Tuesday the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO, which says it receives weekly status reports from the North Korean Ministry of Health, believes that the country has the capacity to detect SARS-CoV-2 in a reference laboratory located in Pyongyang. “As of April 2, 709 people - 11 foreigners and 698 nationals - had been tested for COVID-19. There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19. There are 509 people in quarantine - two foreigners and 507 nationals, ” said WHO country representative Dr Edwin Salvador in an email response. "Since December 31, 24,842 people have left quarantine, including 380 foreigners," he added.
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According to WHO, 206 countries and territories have identified cases of contamination. Only North Korea, Lesotho, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Yemen are currently exceptions with zero cases.
Some experts doubt that North Korea, which shares its borders with China, the cradle of the epidemic, and South Korea, one of the most affected Asian countries, has not yet detected any infection.