May 14, 2022 at 9:13 am
image source,Getty Images
Staff disinfecting a supermarket in Pyongyang in October last year.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un said the rapid spread of the coronavirus was a “huge disaster” for the country, state media reported.
Kim Jong-un called for a comprehensive fight against the spread of the virus at an emergency meeting on Saturday (May 14).
On Thursday, North Korea officially announced its first confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. Experts say the virus may have been circulating for some time.
There are fears that a massive outbreak could have dire consequences in North Korea.
North Korea’s 25 million people are in a very vulnerable situation due to a lack of vaccinations and a poor medical system.
North Korean state media reported on Saturday that half a million people had developed unexplained fevers in recent weeks. Most Covid-19 cases go undiagnosed due to the country’s limited testing capacity.
That’s a big jump from the number of confirmed cases reported on Friday and Thursday, and it sheds some light on the North Korean outbreak.
image source,EPA
On May 12, Kim Jong-un presided over a meeting to deal with the new crown pneumonia.
“The spread of the vicious epidemic is the (largest) turmoil that our country has experienced since the founding of the nation,” Kim Jong-un was quoted as saying by the official news agency KCNA.
He blamed bureaucracy and medical incompetence for the crisis, and suggested lessons learned from the responses in neighboring China, among others.
According to North Korean state media, 27 people have died of fever since April.
The report did not say whether they tested positive for the new coronavirus, and only one death in the capital Pyongyang was confirmed to be infected with the Omicron variant.
This is the first time North Korea has acknowledged the emergence of a new crown epidemic, marking the end of what North Korea has claimed for two years when the country was “free from the new crown pneumonia.”
Last year, the enigmatic country rejected millions of international offers of AstraZeneca and Chinese-made vaccines. The country claims to have sealed its borders in early January 2020 to bring the virus under control.
North Korea shares borders with South Korea and China, both of which are battling the outbreak. China is currently trying to contain the spread of Omicron, imposing blockades in places like Shanghai.
image source,Kyodo via Archyde.com
Pyongyang Railway Station
Kim Jong-un was seen on TV wearing a mask at a meeting on Thursday outlining coronavirus rules, believed to be the first time he has been seen in public in such attire.
He ordered “maximum emergency” control of the virus, including local lockdowns and restrictions on gatherings in workplaces.
South Korea said after Kim Jong Un’s statement on Thursday that it would provide humanitarian aid, but Pyongyang has yet to respond.