The Russian Embassy in North Korea says local authorities have imposed a five-day lockdown in Pyongyang, citing rising cases of a respiratory illness in the capital.

The embassy on Wednesday uploaded on its Facebook page what it called a notice from the North Korean Foreign Ministry.

Due to a rise in the number of people with influenza and those with a respiratory illness, North Korean authorities declared the five days starting Wednesday a period for special precautions against diseases.

During this time, authorities are requiring foreign diplomats to remain either within the embassy compound or their homes.

The diplomats are required to report to designated medical institutions the results of their temperature checks, which must be done four times a day.

Last May, North Korea announced that it confirmed the first case of the coronavirus in the country.

But three months later the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, declared that the country had successfully contained the virus and won the fight against the pandemic.

The country's state-run media is now calling on the public to stay alert and take preventive measures.