The authoritarian state of North Korea has placed its residents under a five-day lockdown over "respiratory illness".
Movement in the capital of Pyongyang has been restricted from Wednesday to Sunday as its residents have also been ordered to check their temperature daily, according to a government notice seen by the news outlet NK News.
Just a day earlier, the same publication had reported that its residents had been panic-buying groceries as they feared a lockdown would be imminent.
The source said there was a notable buildup in traffic on the streets and that people were buying large amounts of food.
It is unclear if other cities are also being placed under lockdown, and state media has yet to announce the new measures.
The notice also warned of capital punishment or banishment for family members of anyone caught spreading "rumours" or selling medicine on the black market, it reportedly said.
The notice did not mention Covid-19 by name but said that the illnesses currently spreading in the capital included the common cold.
Experts predict it is likely Coronavirus spreading but that the state does not want to admit it due to its previous secrecy on the virus.
"Covid is disappearing and reappearing depending on the temperature, not just in North Korea but around the world," Go Myong-hyun, a researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies told France 24.
He continued: "North Korea must have prepared for it to some extent, but it seems that the virus reappeared a little sooner than they thought."
North Korea closed its borders very quickly in early 2020 but never declared any Covid-19 cases whatsoever until May 12, 2022.
Despite this, leader Kim Jong-un described the situation as the “greatest turmoil” North Korea has faced since it was founded in 1948.
The exact number of vaccinated North Koreans is unknown and it is unclear whether a specific vaccination policy is in place as the country has turned down millions of vaccine doses from COVAX.
“If Covid-19 is spreading in North Korea, it will be having deleterious effects; the population's resilience is so low right now. In the end, this is an authoritarian government that will prioritise regime security over the well-being of its citizens,” said Hazel Smith, of the Centre for Korea Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies to the Lancet.
Human Rights Watch said the government used the pandemic as a pretext to increase repressive measures including upgrading fences, infrastructure, and border controls, which included an unconditional “shoot to kill” for anyone entering or leaving buffer zones with China without authorisation.
