Coronavirus outbreak: North Korea set to ban tourists to keep out virus

North Korea is to slap a temporary ban on the entry of foreign tourists in an effort to counter the spread of the deadly new coronavirus from China, tour operators have revealed.

The vast majority of tourists to the hermit kingdom arrive in group tours from China, generating much-needed revenue for an economy that has been squeezed by international sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.

But with the coronavirus hitting Taiwan, Japan and Thailand, the North’s regime appeared to calculate on Tuesday that its ailing medical infrastructure, already under pressure from widespread malnutrition and tuberculosis could not risk an outbreak of the new disease, which causes respiratory failure.

On Tuesday, Young Pioneer Tours, an adventure travel company based in China, said in a statement that from Wednesday North Korea will temporarily close its borders to all foreign tourists as a precaution against the virus.

A manager at another foreign tour company contacted by Reuters said they too had been told of such a move, but that it was not yet clear who would be affected by such a policy, with more details expected on Wednesday.

The novel coronavirus has rapidly spread from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where is believed to have originated from an animal source at a local seafood market, and it is now present in multiple locations, including Beijing and Shanghai.

The Chinese authorities confirmed on Monday that the virus, which is similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which swept through Asia in 2002-2003, can now be transmitted between humans.

The new virus is likely to be costly to Pyongyang, as tough international sanctions, including restrictions on its overseas workers, do not include inbound tourism.

The regime is estimated to earn millions of dollars from tourists from China, which is one of the pariah country’s biggest international backers.

The move would not be unprecedented for the isolated nation. In 2015, it completely closed its borders to foreign tourists for four months, and introduced a strict 21-day quarantine for foreign aid workers and diplomats, in order to keep out the Ebola virus during an outbreak in West Africa.

Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security