(Seoul) North Korea recorded four new cases of ‘fever’ on Tuesday, state news agency KCNA reported on Thursday, suspecting them of being linked to the ‘malignant outbreak’ of the coronavirus, two weeks after that the country has proclaimed a “stunning victory” against COVID-19.
Posted yesterday at 10:25 p.m.
Four new cases of fever were identified on August 23 in Ryanggang province, bordering China, the agency reported, based on data from health authorities.
“The area where the four fever cases appeared was immediately confined and, at the same time, (the authorities) quickly mobilized mobile epidemic teams and rapid diagnosis and treatment teams,” the official said. official news agency.
The public authorities “are also taking measures to investigate the origin of this epidemic focus”, she added.
North Korea speaks of “patients with fever” rather than “COVID-19 patients”, presumably due to a lack of means to carry out tests.
The isolated regime, which has maintained a strict closure of its borders since the start of the pandemic, confirmed in May an epidemic of the Omicron variant in Pyongyang, its capital.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who himself fell ill during the outbreak, said earlier this month he had won a “stunning victory” against the virus and ordered the lifting of almost all restrictions, such as the obligation to wear a mask, when no more cases had been detected.
The country has recorded nearly 4.8 million “cases of fever” since the end of April, with only 74 deaths for an official mortality rate of 0.002%, according to state media. No cases had been identified since July 29.
Experts, including the WHO, are skeptical of Pyongyang’s health statistics and its ostensible control of the outbreak.
The country’s hospitals are notoriously under-equipped, with few intensive care units and no treatment or vaccine, although South Korean specialist outlet NK News reported that the country received vaccine doses from China.
Pyongyang has accused South Korea of being the source of the outbreak in the country, threatening it with “strong retaliation”.