PYONGYANG, February 4. /TASS/: North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has ordered restrictions to be placed on foreign diplomats entering and exiting the country in attempt to prevent the spread of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus that originated in China’s city of Wuhan, the Russian embassy in Pyongyang said via Facebook Tuesday.
"Entry to and exit from the country is forbidden for members of the diplomatic corps looking to purchase goods as well as for new staffers," the Facebook post reads. "In case of arriving in the country due to a necessity or conditions you have no control over, entry to Pyongyang is permitted only after a 15-day quarantine at entry points."
The embassy also notes that North Korean authorities have toughened quarantine measured for diplomats and international organizations’ employees who are currently working in Pyongyang. In particular, all foreigners are instructed to stay in their embassy buildings and not to leave the North Korean embassy’s diplomatic quarters where a number of missions of international organizations and residential complexes are located until February 15, 2020.
At the same time, the authorities have indefinitely suspended provision of services to foreigners in hotels, shops, restaurants and certain public places in Pyongyang. While the quarantine measures are in place, foreigners are told to make use of shops situated in the diplomatic quarter.
