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North Korea, fear takes hold over new foreign threat: Ebola
World’s
toughest measures against the disease have been imposed in a country
far from west Africa, and with few tourists
The Guardian,
2
November, 2014
Young
children sit on the laps of medical staff, watching intently as a
briefing describes the dangers of Ebola. Foreigners and citizens
arriving at the capital’s airport are held in quarantine for weeks.
Tourists are banned outright.
The
world’s most draconian measures against the disease have been
imposed not in the worst-affected west African countries, nor their
neighbours, but in North Korea, thousands of miles from the outbreak.
They
are increasing the isolation of a country already known for its tight
controls on contact with outsiders, and risk damaging its fragile
economy.
The
Guardian was among the small number of foreigners allowed to fly in
after the ban on tour groups but before the imposition of quarantine
on all those entering from abroad. The fear is tangible; a factory
and a research centre which journalists were due to visit cancelled
the invitations, citing Ebola concerns.
“It’s
Ebola hysteria,” said one foreigner in the country. “People are
really scared.”
Each
night, the country’s television news broadcasts a lengthy section
on the disease, filling the screen with images of grieving families,
ailing patients and medical workers in protective gear – as well as
some coverage of its own measures, including footage of the session
at the children’s hospital.
On
Friday the state news agency KCNA announced in a one-sentence news
report: “A brisk hygienic information service goes on in the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to prevent the outbreak of
Ebola.”
But
the news bulletins appear to have alarmed rather than reassured many
North Koreans.
“People
are asking foreigners for information; they don’t understand Ebola
and don’t really know what it is,” said a westerner in the
capital.
At
Pyongyang’s airport, groups of uniformed soldiers toiled at “Korea
speed” – a zealous pace – to complete the gleaming new building
that will soon replace the small, dingy terminal. It is evidence of
the country’s recent push to attract more international visitors,
like the kitschily accomplished aquatic performances at the capital’s
dolphinarium, and the sizeable Mirim Riding Club, where tourists can
trot around a sawdust-strewn arena with a trainer for $40 (£25).
Both are lauded as projects for the people, but promoted to
foreigners.
Those
plans to expand tourism – earning precious foreign currency – are
now on hold indefinitely. The Yanggakdo Hotel, one of the few hotels
in Pyongyang where foreigners may stay, was largely deserted, though
some Chinese business travellers and a handful of westerners
remained. Chinese croupiers in its casino said they had seen few
guests.
Some
believe the stringent Ebola measures reflect the state’s enduring
suspicion towards the outside world, even as it tries to benefit from
contact. Others think the real causes are more prosaic, citing the
poor state of the country’s health system and the adoption of
similar measures when the respiratory disease Sars hit the region in
2003.
“I
understand the logic of what they are doing, even if it seems
extreme. They don’t think they can control any outbreaks of
anything like that and with Sars and avian flu they developed what
for them are now standard operating procedures,” said Hazel Smith,
an expert on North Korea at the University of Central Lancashire.
“If
there was someone with Ebola coming in, it wouldn’t be easy to
avoid contagion: they have problems with electricity, running water
and disinfectants.
“Sars
was close and they were one of the few countries in east Asia that
avoided it. They think this approach has proved successful in the
past; the question of whether [Ebola] is relevant to them is another
matter.”
She
noted that there had been intense debates in other countries over
what precautions were appropriate. Australia and Canada have
introduced visa bans on people from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone,
the countries worst affected by Ebola. Other countries have
introduced screening for travellers arriving from those places. But
none has taken measures even approaching those in North Korea.
The
country announced it was banning all tour groups on 23 October. It
also began refusing entry to citizens of countries that had had Ebola
cases: a Beijing-based Spanish cameraman was told he could not make a
scheduled trip.
Two
individuals from African countries – both far from the outbreak
zone – were ordered into quarantine after arrival in Pyongyang,
though one has since been allowed to leave.
An
unknown number of North Korean citizens who have returned from abroad
have also been quarantined, although it is not clear if the measure
applies to all countries or specific ones. North Korea has diplomatic
ties with Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Kim
Yong Nam, the head of the country’s parliament, has been touring
Africa, visiting Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda
and Ethiopia with other senior officials including the minister of
public health.
On
Thursday the country tightened measures further, announcing that all
foreigners entering the country would have to undergo a three-week
quarantine period.
Foreign
visitors who entered in the days before the quarantine announcement
were told that daily temperature checks were compulsory.
The
DailyNK website, which relies on sources inside the country, has also
reported internal travel restrictions preventing many North Koreans
from visiting the capital and requiring others to obtain a health
certificate before making the journey.
“It’s
very much a trade-dependent economy, and especially trade with China
now is absolutely crucial for the daily life of citizens at every
level of society,” warned Andray Abrahamian, executive director of
Choson Exchange, a non-profit organisation helping North Koreans to
help develop their understanding of business and economics. “To
have that cut off for even a few weeks would be debilitating.”
However,
he added that exemptions were likely almost immediately, especially
for Chinese citizens with multiple entry visas. “The people who do
have contacts with Chinese businesspeople can get the message flowing
upwards that this is seriously damaging to the economy.”
Smith
said: “North Korea is completely different from 10 years ago. There
are powerful push factors that will ensure important economic
exchanges will continue. The last thing they want is to stop major
commercial interchange. All the elite have big commercial interests.”
When
it came to smaller-scale trade, officials no longer had full
enforcement capacity in Chinese border areas, she added: “There
will be bribes and people slipping backhanders to get people in.”
Associated
Press said on Friday that Chinese businesspeople on the border had
said they were unaffected and China’s state news agency, Xinhua,
reported that no Chinese nationals had been quarantined.
Already,
officials have said that diplomats and the staff of international
organisations – who have to make regular trips to Beijing for cash
and other supplies because of sanctions – can serve their
quarantine at home rather than at designated quarantine hotels. That
is a relaxation of the Sars rules.
Those
in the tourism industry say thousands of westerners and perhaps a few
hundred thousand Chinese visit North Korea each year, as well as many
Malaysians and Singaporeans. Summer is the peak time for visitors,
but several upcoming tours have been hit.
“The
best guess anyone has is that this will last for the rest of this
year – and after that we will see,” said Simon Cockerell, general
manager of Koryo Tours, which has already cancelled one trip.
“If
Ebola subsides, they can open up the country and say, ‘We got it
right’,” said Gareth Johnson, managing director of the firm Young
Pioneers, which had several tours booked this winter. “The problem
is that if it gets any worse, or there’s an Ebola case in China,
they will feel they cannot open up again.”
The entrance of Hospital Begin in Saint-Mande, eastern Paris, where the UN worker was admitted with Ebola. A French nurse was also treated there for Ebola in September and recovered. Photograph: Philippe Wojazer/Reuters
Feds
Delete Document to Hide Major Ebola Fact
The
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed an Ebola
poster from its website on Thursday after a media report that
its information conflicted with other statements made by the CDC.
The
poster revealed that Ebola
can be spread by contaminated water droplets —
as from a sneeze — despite claims from the CDC that no transmission
of Ebola through the air is possible.
The New
York Post reported
on this poster Wednesday — and by Thursday, the poster had
mysteriously disappeared. Thus, the CDC becomes the latest group of
government drones to learn that everything is permanent on the
WorldWideWeb, courtesy of the Daily
Mail:
“Ebola
is spread through droplets,” the poster said.
According
to the Post,
the page that previously hosted the poster instead contained a
message explaining its disappearance on Thursday:
“The
’What’s the difference between infections spread through
air or by droplets?’ fact sheet is being updated and is
currently unavailable. Please visit cdc.gov/Ebola for up-to-date
information on Ebola,” it read Thursday, according to the report.
Asked
about the contradiction, the CDC of the most
transparent administration in the history of
the country had no comment either Wednesday or Thursday, the Post
reported.
“Droplet
spread happens when germs traveling inside droplets that are coughed
or sneezed from a sick person enter the eyes, nose or mouth of
another person,” the poster stated. “Droplet spread diseases
include: plague, Ebola.”
“The
CDC said it doesn’t spread at all by air, then they came out with
this poster,” Dr. Meryl Nass of the Institute for Public Accuracy
in D.C. told the Post. “They admit that these particles or droplets
may land on objects such as doorknobs and that Ebola can be
transmitted that way.”
Add
this to the growing list of inconsistencies from the Barack Obama
administration’s response to the Ebola crisis. Travel restrictions
would be harmful, but they
implemented travel restrictions.
The military troops in West Africa will only operate in support
roles, but they may
be trained for direct exposure to Ebola.
Quarantines are unnecessary, but all troops returning from West
African duty will be quarantined for 21 days.
When
it comes to protecting the health of American citizens, there’s no
such thing as “laughably” incompetent. But the Obama
administration sure comes close.
Please
share this article on Twitter and Facebook if you agree that the
Obama administration’s response to the Ebola outbreak has been
nothing more or less than incompetent.
UN
Ebola patient being
treated in French hospital
The
United Nations worker contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone and has been
placed in isolation under high security
2
November, 2014
France
is treating a UN employee who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone, the
health ministry said on Sunday.
“This
person, who worked in Sierra Leone in the fight against Ebola, has
undergone a secure medical evacuation by specialised aircraft,” the
ministry said in a statement.
The
victim has been placed in isolation under high security in an army
training hospital in Saint-Mande near Paris.
A
French nurse, who worked for Médecins sans Frontières in Liberia,
was treated for Ebola at the same hospital in September and
recovered.
Despite
around 500 reports of possible Ebola infections in France since June,
not one has so far tested positive, the ministry added.
France
has 12 research hospitals ready to take in suspected Ebola cases.
The
Ebola epidemic had killed at least 4,922 people out of 13,703 cases
up to October 27, almost all in the west African countries of
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, according to the latest World
Health Organisation figures.
Pharma
companies could exploit Ebola, but financing needed – UN Special
Envoy
The
Ebola outbreak has ravaged communities, destroyed lives and alienated
victims from their loved ones. And while drastic measures are being
implemented to curb the epidemic, is the situation also challenging
our sense of solidarity and the very meaning of humanity? Oksana is
joined by Dr David Nabarro, the UN Special Envoy on Ebola, to talk
about these issues
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