‘Yellow dust from China could spread Covid’; North Korea warns people to stay inside

Seoul, October 24

North Korea has warned its residents to remain indoors, saying seasonal yellow mud blowing in from China would possibly carry the brand new coronavirus into the nation.

“As the new coronavirus infections continue to spread around the world, the need to deal with the yellow dust and take thorough measures has become more critical,” North Korea’s official get together newspaper Rodong Sinmun mentioned on Thursday.

The declare that the virus that causes COVID-19 may unfold to North Korea from the Gobi desert, 1,900 km (1,200 miles) away, seems unsupported. Two metres (6 ft) is a standard social-distancing metric, though the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says droplets containing the virus can generally linger within the air for hours.

The North Korean newspaper mentioned residents ought to chorus from outside actions and should comply with prevention pointers similar to sporting masks once they go exterior.

North Korea has reported no confirmed circumstances of the coronavirus, a declare that well being specialists query. Pyongyang has imposed strict border controls and quarantine measures to forestall an outbreak. Analysts say an outbreak might be devastating for the economically and politically remoted nation.

State-run KRT tv mentioned on Wednesday the yellow mud and superb mud might comprise dangerous substances, similar to heavy metals and pathogenic microorganisms together with viruses.

“People must pay attention to personal hygiene after returning from outside,” a information reader mentioned. “Also, workers should avoid outdoor construction work even at reconstruction sites.”

On Thursday, the Russian embassy in North Korea wrote on Facebook that North Korea’s Foreign Ministry had ordered all guests to the nation and its workers to attend out the mud storm inside.

Reuters