{"id":4716,"date":"2020-09-22T18:46:50","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T09:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4716"},"modified":"2022-05-16T18:01:09","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T09:01:09","slug":"lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2020\/09\/recommendations\/lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cInside N. Korea\uff1e Lockdown Blues: Residents Grow Anxious as Quarantine Authorities Forcibly Seal Off Entire Neighborhoods for 20 Days"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Photo) Kim Jong-un touring typhoon-hit areas. Perhaps mindful of public unrest, he has increased the number of on-site inspections since August. Photograph originally published in the Rodong Sinmun on September 5, 2020<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6 Special alert issued at the end of July<\/h2>\n

In North Korea, strong countermeasures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus have been in effect since late July, causing further deterioration to local living conditions. With no end in sight, anxiety is spreading among local residents. (Kang Ji-won)<\/p>\n

Kim Jong-un convened an emergency meeting of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party on July 25 to declare an emergency over the coronavirus situation and issue a special alert.<\/p>\n

Though coronavirus measures had been eased in early June, the emergency alert has brought back tight controls across the country, leading to much discontent among the general population.<\/p>\n

According to reporting partners from various regions of North Korea, access to the capital is currently being tightly restricted and buses have been banned from highways, with the movement of people being strictly controlled in provincial areas as well.<\/p>\n

The biggest complaint among residents is over the strengthened quarantine measures. A reporting partner living in the country\u2019s third largest city, Chongjin, in North Hamkyung Province shared the following with ASIAPRESS in early September:<\/p>\n

\u201cAn acquaintance in Sinan-gu had a relative visit from another area to provide some help at her house, but because the relative had a cold, she was reported by the leader of the inminban (local political unit) to the district quarantine office. Both of the women and their families were subsequently placed into compulsory quarantine for 20 days. A total of 16 households were additionally placed in quarantine.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the reporting partner, disinfection work was carried out in the area and all residents were banned from leaving their homes, even from using outdoor toilets. Furthermore, public safety officers and militia guards were mobilized to keep the residences under surveillance for the full 20 days.
\nNextPage: \u25c6No PCR coronavirus tests for ordinary people?...<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25c6 No PCR coronavirus tests for ordinary people?<\/h2>\n

Hospitals and quarantine centers are still unable to conduct coronavirus tests. Instead, areas suspected of having outbreaks are unconditionally sealed off and sprayed with salt water and disinfectants. According to the reporting partner, the quarantine period is set at 20 days, so people are under pressure to not say anything if they have caught a cold.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As of September 5, reporting partners in other cities in Ryanggang and North Hamkyung Province could provide no information to suggest that coronavirus testing was underway in their areas.<\/p>\n

Coronavirus testing kits have been provided to North Korea by Russia, China, and international agencies since April but, as of September, provincial cities do not seem to be equipped to provide testing. It seems, therefore, that the Kim Jong-un regime is implementing testing primarily for regions and institutions that it values most.<\/p>\n

A reporting partner living in Ryanggang Province also attested to the overly strict controls.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe markets have not been closed but body temperatures are measured at the entrances. If a person displays symptoms, the quarantine office will place the person and their entire neighborhood in lockdown. Compulsory quarantining is conducted in homes rather than at special facilities. Barriers are set up to blockade the residential areas that are locked down and officers stand guard to keep people away. Food is a problem for those under quarantine. No matter how large a family is, households only receive 10 kilograms of corn, which is delivered through their place of employment. No other food is provided and, by the time the quarantine period is over, everyone becomes visibly skinny.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Ryanggang Province, many residents rely on collecting drinking water from the Yalu River, which marks the border with China. Due to the border blockade, however, access to the river is strictly prohibited, causing great inconvenience.<\/p>\n

\u25c6 Social unrest spreads amid endless pandemic<\/h2>\n

Living conditions for local residents are rapidly deteriorating and, with no end to the pandemic in sight, there is a growing sense of pessimism about the future. Indeed, the spreading social unrest seems to be causing concern for the authorities.<\/p>\n

The reporting partner from Chongjin City is a member of the Workers\u2019 Party and says that authorities have tasked party members with reporting weekly on morale levels and public sentiment at work and at home.<\/p>\n

The reporting partner from Ryanggang Province, meanwhile, gave the following account of a women\u2019s organization meeting which was held in September:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe officials stressed that there are now few infections in China and that vaccines have been developed. They asked for us to bear with the strict quarantine measures a little longer in order to prevent outbreaks of coronavirus.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u203b ASIAPRESS contacts its reporting partners in North Korea through smuggled Chinese mobile phones.<\/p>\n

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