North Korea enhances inspections on imported goods amid coronavirus outbreak

Amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak, North Korea has announced stricter inspection and quarantine measures for the imported goods to the nation on February 26. The North Korean state agency reported that the country's government has enhanced the roles and responsibilities of the State Commission of Quality Management officials. However, the immediate neighbour of South Korea has not publically confirmed a single case of COVID-19 while cases in the South have jumped to nearly 1,261. 

Meanwhile, South Korea's President Moon Jae-in also raised the alert level to 'highest' as the number of infected people in the nation soared. On the other hand, Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly said that the epidemic is China's 'largest public health emergency' since its founding in 1949. Jinping further called the outbreak a 'crisis' and said that the epidemic has the 'fastest transmission' and the widest range of infection which has been the most difficult to prevent and control. 

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First US soldier infected

The United States military in South Korea confirmed its first case among soldiers while the infected cases in the Asian country also jumped to more than 1,200 with more than a hundred new cases confirmed. As per South Korea's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reports, most of the new cases were in Daegu and some were in neighbouring towns. Furthermore, the authorities are now tracing the soldier's contact to determine if other people may have been exposed. 

According to international media reports, the US military said that the 23-year-old soldier was in self-quarantine at his off-base residence. He had been based in Camp Carroll in a town near Daegu. Around 28,500 US troops are currently stationed in South Korea as deterrence against potential aggression from North Korea. 

Death toll surpasses 2,700

Meanwhile, the death toll in China has surpassed 2,700 and the National Health Commission reportedly confirmed 406 new cases. The total number of confirmed cases within China also hit nearly 78,064. First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across more than 25 countries since December 2019 and more than 1,700 people have recovered from the disease, whereas, nearly 12,500 coronavirus patients have by now been reportedly discharged from hospitals.

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(With AP inputs)