In North Korea, 21 people have died with fever symptoms, while another 174,440 people have fever symptoms, reports AP† The country is trying to slow down the spread of corona with strict measures.
The total number of deaths has risen to 27 since the end of April, while 524,440 people have been diagnosed with fever. 243,630 people have recovered while 280,810 are in isolation, state media said. They did not disclose how many deaths and fevers involved people with corona.
Since Thursday, the hermetically sealed country has been in a national lockdown. Leader Kim Jong-un called the outbreak a “massive disruption” during a meeting on anti-virus strategies on Saturday. He called for unity between the government and the people to stabilize the outbreak as soon as possible.
The spread of the coronavirus among the unvaccinated population of North Korea may have accelerated during mass gatherings such as this military parade marking the 90th anniversary of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army in Pyongyang.
The spread of the coronavirus among the unvaccinated population of North Korea may have accelerated during mass gatherings such as this military parade marking the 90th anniversary of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army in Pyongyang. Photo: AFP / KCN
The majority of the country’s 26 million inhabitants are unvaccinated and North Korea lacks proper healthcare. Failure to contain the spread of the virus could have devastating consequences, experts say.
According to state media, virus samples collected on Sunday showed that a number of people ‘with a fever’ are infected with the omikron variant. So far, authorities have confirmed only one death to be linked to an omikron infection.