Seoul, May 11 (IANS). North Korea has expressed concern about the threat posed by Hantavirus after an outbreak of Hantavirus on a foreign cruise ship killed three passengers. This is reminiscent of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic years ago.
Rodong Simanum, the ruling Workers’ Party’s official newspaper, on Monday published news of the virus outbreak in the Andes region on a ship sailing in the Atlantic Ocean, calling it a matter of concern for the international community.
The newspaper reported that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Level-3 emergency response in view of this outbreak and has activated its Emergency Operations Center.
The newspaper urged the public to minimize contact with infected rats, maintain cleanliness at home and workplace, and practice personal hygiene to reduce the risk of infection.
The report follows another published on Friday, which reported the first death on board the MV Hondius, which had departed from Argentina.
The coverage appears to be aimed at alerting the public to the possible spread of the virus in the country. It was reminiscent of Pyongyang’s response to COVID-19, when it sealed its borders for years to prevent the spread of the virus, according to Yonhap news agency.
At the time, the lockdown effectively halted economic exchanges with major trading partners such as China and Russia and was believed to have caused significant damage to the economy.
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Madrid, Spain said that two Indian nationals aboard the cruise ship affected by Hantavirus are safe and have no symptoms. The Dutch-flagged ship MV Hondius, carrying around 150 people, including two Indian nationals, arrived in Spain on Sunday.
The ship was anchored off the coast of Spain’s Canary Islands in the wake of the Hantavirus outbreak. The embassy said passengers on board the ship disembarked in accordance with protocols established by the World Health Organization and Spanish authorities.
Both the Indian citizens are healthy and have no symptoms. According to information provided by the Spanish National Emergency Monitoring and Coordination Centre, both the Indian nationals traveling as crew members have been evacuated to the Netherlands. Here they will be kept in quarantine as per the relevant health safety protocols.
The Indian Embassy said that the Ambassador is in touch with the Spanish authorities and both the Indian nationals (crew members) and are monitoring the situation to ensure the safety of the Indian nationals.
–IANS
PM