The day after the revelation of the first official case of coronavirus in the country, North Korea announces other deaths, explaining that the virus has already spread. Six people with “fever” have died in North Korea, including one who tested positive for Omicron’s BA.2 subvariant, state media KCNA said on Friday.
“A fever whose cause could not be identified spread explosively throughout the country from the end of April,” detailed the official KCNA news agency, which specifies that leader Kim Jong-un s went to the National Epidemic Prevention Headquarters where he “learned about the spread of Covid-19 throughout the country”.
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“More than 350,000 people presented with fever in a short time and at least 162,200 of them are completely cured”, detailed the same source. “On May 12 alone, some 18,000 people had fever across the country and at present 187,800 people are isolated and treated.”
“The most important challenge”
Kim Jong-un, who first appeared on television wearing a mask, chaired an emergency politburo meeting on the epidemic situation on Thursday. He ordered containment measures to try to stem the spread of the virus.
“This is the most important challenge and the most important task facing our party to quickly reverse this health crisis situation,” KCNA said.
North Korea, which was one of the first countries in the world to close its borders in January 2020 after the virus emerged in neighboring China, has long boasted of its ability to keep the virus at bay. It had so far not reported any confirmed cases of Covid-19 to the WHO.
A virus spread during the military parade
The virus may have already spread across the country, analysts say, including major April events in Pyongyang, including a military parade on April 25 where neither participants nor spectators wore protective clothing. mask.
“The organization of a military parade attended by a large crowd, while the Omicron raged in neighboring China, shows that Pyongyang was overconfident in its ability to fight and prevent the virus,” he told AFP. AFP Cheong Seong-chang, North Korea specialist at the Sejong Institute.
Read again: Covid-19: China records its first deaths since the start of containment in Shanghai
The country could face a major health crisis, with Omicron being highly transmissible, he said, recalling that Pyongyang reported nearly 20,000 cases in a single day. “If the death toll from Omicron skyrockets, Pyongyang may need to seek support from neighboring China,” he added.
Beijing on Thursday offered its aid to North Korea, whose health infrastructure is notoriously failing. China, the world’s only major economy to maintain a zero Covid policy, however, is grappling with multiple outbreaks of Omicron despite strict lockdowns and massive testing across the country.
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