Health

North Korea appears to have lifted face mask mandate

Seoul, July 4 (EFE).- North Korea, a country that still maintains strict anti-Covid policies, seems to have lifted the face mask mandate, photos published by state media showed Tuesday.

Photos published on Tuesday by the main North Korean daily, the Rodong Sinmun, as well as images broadcast by state-run television KCNA since the previous day show North Koreans without masks both indoors and outdoors.

The regime of North Korea, possibly the only country in the world that still had a universal mask mandate, has not made an official announcement of a change in its policy.

It is also not known if it’s a temporary measure put in place due to high temperatures in several parts of the country.

After keeping the country’s borders closed since 2020 and reporting the first Covid-19 infection in May last year, the regime announced shortly after – in September -, that it had beaten the virus and withdrew the mandatory use of face masks, only to reimpose it weeks later to prevent the spread of flu and other infectious diseases.

The country is only known to have received one batch of Covid-19 vaccines from China last year, but it is unknown how many it has used.

North Korea has prevented its own diplomats and workers overseas from returning since it implemented its strict border policy, which only allows the entry of goods.

The only person believed to have been able to enter the country in the past three years is China’s ambassador to North Korea, Wang Yajun. EFE

asb/pd

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