North Korea appears to lift Covid mask mandate, reports say

The isolated country has maintained border lockdowns and other anti-Covid measures long after most other nations ditched such restrictions.

Reuters

July 4, 2023 11:36 AM1 minute read

This undated picture and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 2, 2022 shows a staff member disinfecting the facility to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in a shop of Pyongyang. Photo: AFP

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North Korea appeared to have eased a strict Covid-19 mask mandate, media reports said this week, after state news agencies showed many people maskless.

The isolated country has maintained border lockdowns and other anti-Covid measures long after most other nations ditched such restrictions.

North Korean state television and newspapers did not make any official announcement, but showed crowds of people at theatres and other locations without masks.

That was a "stark change" compared to newspaper coverage dating back to September, according to analysts with NK News, a Seoul-based site that monitors North Korea.

Residents, factories and social groups were told that the mandate was lifted as of July 1, US-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) said on Monday, citing unnamed sources.