North Korea's main newspaper on Sunday called public attention to keeping "at least one meter distance" from others in what appears to be a social distancing effort to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

Introducing foreign countries' measures to curb COVID-19 outbreaks, the Rodong Sinmun, the daily of the North's ruling Workers' Party, mentioned such social distancing measures as staying away from others and avoiding public transportation.

Pyongyang has claimed to have no COVID-19 cases yet, although speculation about possible outbreaks in the communist state has persisted due to its beefed-up public awareness campaign and a lack of diagnostic capabilities.

"We should not let children go outside, especially to public places or areas crowded with people," the newspaper said in an article about protecting the health of young children.

The newspaper also stressed the need to avoid "listening" to each other, as well eating food and drinking in public places or touching anything there.

Meanwhile, the North's propaganda outlet, Meari, pointed out the possibility of virus infection through birds or animals rather than person-to-person transmission, urging people to immediately cordon off areas where wild animals are found. (Yonhap)