Covid outbreak in North Korea

North Korea reported 42 deaths on Sunday, as the country entered its fourth day of a national lockdown aimed at containing the impoverished country’s first documented Covid-19 outbreak.

According to the publication, at least 296,180 additional people developed fever symptoms, and 15 more perished as of Sunday.

North Korea’s admission on Thursday that it is dealing with a “explosive” Covid-19 epidemic has aroused fears that the virus might devastate a country with a restricted health-care system, limited testing skills, and no vaccine programme.

The Korea is adopting “rapid state emergency measures” to suppress the pandemic, according to state news agency KCNA, although there is no indication that Pyongyang is willing to accept foreign offers of vaccinations.

“All provinces, cities, and counties in the country have been completely shut down, and working units, production units, and residential units have been closed off from each other since the morning of May 12th, and strict and intensive examinations of all people are being conducted,” KCNA reported on Sunday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un claimed a day earlier that the spread of Covid-19 had thrown his country into “grave chaos,” and he urged for an all-out campaign to end the epidemic.

Despite the lockdown, Kim and other top officials attended the burial of Yang Hyong-sop, a former de facto head of state under Kim Jong-leadership, il’s according to KCNA.

According to the research, a “significant number” of the deaths were caused by persons who were “careless in taking medications owing to a lack of awareness and comprehension of stealth Omicron variant virus infection sickness and its right treatment approach.”

On Saturday night, Korean Central Television presented fever remedies. In cases of high fever, headache, and muscle and joint problems, a doctor at Kimmanyu hospital advised “gargling with salt water” and taking other drugs.

KCNA also recommended drinking Lonicera japonica or willow leaf tea three times per day.

According to experts, North Korea looks to be unable to test those tens of thousands of symptomatic people. The number of suspected cases that tested positive for Covid-19 was not disclosed by KCNA.

According to KCNA, North Korea has recorded 820,620 suspected cases, with 324,550 currently receiving medical care.

According to the World Health Organization, North Korea is one of only two nations in the world that has yet to launch a Covid immunisation campaign.

According to relief organisations, its self-imposed blockades have reduced trade to a trickle and prompted fears about food shortages or other problems.