North Korea orders strict national lockdown

North Korea has ordered a strict national lockdown after confirming its first official Covid infections.

The country’s leader, Kim Jong-un had vowed to get rid of the outbreak, which it called a severe national emergency that had breached the country’s quarantine front.

Reports say the nation’s population is vulnerable as it has declined to administer a Covid-19 vaccine programme, and even rejecting offers from the international community to supply millions of AstraZeneca jabs last year.

There have been concerns about North Korea’s impoverished healthcare system.