After a 'explosive' sickness spreads throughout the nation, North Korea declares the first COVID-19 death
Key Takeaways
- COVID-19 has killed at least one person in North Korea, according to official reports, while hundreds of thousands have had fever symptoms.
- 350,000 people have shown signs of the fever, according to KCNA, with 18,000 of them reporting symptoms for the first time on Tuesday.
- Health officials are trying to synchronise testing and treatment systems, as well as improve disinfection efforts, according to KCNA.
According to official media, at least one person in North Korea has died from COVID-19, and hundreds of thousands have developed fever symptoms, indicating the potentially deadly nature of the country's first verified epidemic since the pandemic began.
According to the official KCNA news agency, 187,800 people are being treated in isolation after a fever of unknown origin has "explosively spread nationally" since late April.
According to KCNA, some 350,000 people have displayed signs of the fever, with 18,000 of them reporting symptoms for the first time on Tuesday. So far, 162,200 of them have been treated, although it is unclear how many have tested positive for COVID-19.
According to KCNA, at least six persons with fever symptoms died, with one of them verified to have contracted the Omicron type of the virus.
After proclaiming "gravest state emergency" and ordering a national lockdown on Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended the anti-virus command center on Tuesday to assess the situation and responses.
According to KCNA, Kim "condemned that the simultaneous spread of fever with the capital area as a focal point demonstrates that there is a weak point in the epidemic prevention mechanism we have previously constructed."
Kim emphasized the importance of effectively isolating and treating persons with fever, as well as developing scientific treatment procedures and strategies "with lightning speed" and bolstering pharmaceutical supply measures.
According to KCNA, health officials are attempting to coordinate testing and treatment systems as well as increase disinfection efforts.
The virus's quick spread shows the risk of a serious crisis in a country that lacks medical resources but has denied international immunization assistance and closed its borders.
According to analysts, the outbreak might exacerbate the isolated country's already precarious food issue this year, as the lockdown would impede the country's "all-out fight" against drought and worker mobilization.