Pyongyang should grant foreign medical workers full access in North Korea and lessen control over access to information to prevent a novel coronavirus outbreak there, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea Tomas Ojea Quintana said in a press release on Wednesday
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) Pyongyang should grant foreign medical workers full access in North Korea and lessen control over access to information to prevent a novel coronavirus outbreak there, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea Tomas Ojea Quintana said in a press release on Wednesday.
"The outside world should be prepared to respond, and the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea [North Korea] should allow full and unimpeded access to medical experts and humanitarian actors, and relax restrictions on access to information," the release said.
Ojea Quintana pointed out the humanitarian crisis in North Korea, where more than 43 percent of the population is undernourished and half of the medical centers' water and sanitation facilities remain inadequate, makes the country particularly vulnerable to an outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
The Special Rapporteur said that although there have been no official cases of novel coronavirus infections in North Korea, humanitarian workers need to be permitted to import life-saving supplies in the country.
Ojea Quintana also said that the sanctions regime imposed on North Korea should be reviewed and studied in terms of its impact on the human rights situation there.
More than 81,200 cases of novel coronavirus infections have been reported worldwide so far and more than 2,700 people have died from the disease.
