By Lee Min-hyung
Foreign envoys in Pyongyang have expressed concerns over the North’s recent announcement that it will quarantine foreigners for 21 days over worries about the spread of the Ebola virus, Voice of America (VOA) reported Tuesday.
“The North’s response to the Ebola outbreak is having a bad influence on diplomatic offices, international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the country,” said Roberto Colin, Brazilian Ambassador to North Korea, in an e-mail sent to VOA Saturday.
“Pyongyang is imposing the harshest measures in the world regarding the Ebola epidemic,” he was quoted as saying.
He also underlined the need to check whether it is a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which outlines the privileges of diplomats. The treaty allows a diplomatic mission to perform its duties without fear of coercion by the host country.
Last month, the North said it would quarantine all foreigners for 21 days over Ebola fears, according to an announcement distributed to foreign diplomatic missions in Pyongyang. The 21-day isolation has been regarded as the standard quarantine recommendation to avoid spreading of the virus.
“It just doesn’t make sense to go and stay for 21 days before we can even begin work,” Heidi Linton told VOA last week. She is the executive director of the Christian Friends of Korea, an NGO working in Pyongyang.
North Korea had not made any official announcement on the Ebola outbreak until some workers in the U.S. and Europe were infected with the virus last month.
Amid growing worries that nowhere in the world is safe from the virus, Pyongyang stepped up tough measures to prevent any foreigners from spreading the deadly disease in the country.