North Korea makes bizarre coronavirus cure claim despite reporting no cases
NORTH KOREA has made a string of bizarre claims for curing the coronavirus, including the use of garlic.
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The authoritarian state of North Korea has so far claimed not a single instance of coronavirus has entered the country. Despite this, authorities there have in the past two weeks started to implement preventative measures.
It has now issued fresh instructions for how people in North Korea can protect themselves from the virus.
One of the pieces of advice urges people not to take medicine without a doctor’s approval, including bindingly taking antiviral medications - relatively sensible suggestions.
However, more dictatorial was the advice not to drink alcohol as it weakens the immune system.
And, authorities have said in order to ward off the virus, citizens should use traditional remedies to boost their immune systems.
For example, the consumption of garlic, onions, and honey.
Other advice includes to wear masks and change them frequently, and not to antibiotics as they have no effect of viruses in general.
The guidance generally follows that observed worldwide, though lacks a certain direct responsibility a government has over its people.
More controversial is North Korea’s claim that it is totally free of COVID-19.
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Scepticism has mounted as known cases of infection topped one million worldwide last week.
Many have been quick to point out, however, the fact that North Korea is already a country in near-complete isolation from the outside world.
After the virus was first detected in China in January, the country, ruled over by Kim Jong-Un, quickly closed its borders and imposed strict containment measures.
Pak Myong Su, a director of the North’s central emergency anti-epidemic headquarters, insisted that the efforts had been completely successful.
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“Not one single person has been infected with the novel coronavirus in our country so far,” Pak told AFP.
“We have carried out preemptive and scientific measures such as inspections and quarantine for all personnel entering our country and thoroughly disinfecting all goods, as well as closing borders and blocking sea and air lanes.”
Experts have warned that North Korea is particularly vulnerable to the virus because of its weak healthcare system.
Defectors have even accused Pyongyang of covering up the outbreak.
Last week, the top US military commander in South Korea, General Robert Abrams, said it was “untrue” that North Korea had no coronavirus cases.
He told VOA News: “I can tell you that is an impossible claim based on all of the intel that we have seen.”
In February through to early March the North’s military was locked down for 30 days.
Of this, Mr Abrams said: “They took draconian measures at their border crossings and inside their formations to do exactly what everybody else is doing, which is to stop the spread.”
An unlikely friend came in the form of US president Donald Trump, who previously offered North Korea “cooperation in the anti-epidemic work” in a personal letter to the North Korean leader.
He added that the Mr Kim’s country was definitely “going through something”.
Choi Jung-hun, a former North Korean doctor who fled to the South in 2012, told AFP: “I heard there are many deaths in North Korea, but the authorities are not saying that it’s caused by the coronavirus.”