ROK denies person who fled to DPRK infected with new coronavirus

A Republic of Korea (ROK) health official on Monday said the person who fled to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was not infected with the novel coronavirus, after the DPRK claimed the individual was the first suspected case of COVID-19 in the country.

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DPRK sees 1st suspected COVID-19 case, adopts maximum emergency system

"The person is neither registered as a COVID-19 patient nor classified as a person who came in contact with virus patients," Yoon Tae-ho, a senior ROK health official, said at a press briefing on Monday.

Yoon said virus tests on two people who had close contact with the person had been conducted, and both of them tested negative for the virus.

The DPRK convened meeting and unanimously adopted a "maximum emergency system" after discovering the suspected case, state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday. 

However, KCNA did not specifically mention whether the individual had been tested.