SEOUL, South Korea
North Korea has announced an
"explosive" Covid-19 outbreak that has likely killed six people and
infected more than 350,000, according to state media, prompting fears of an
impending and deadly crisis in the isolated and impoverished nation.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
The announcement comes a day
after the country reported its first ever coronavirus case, calling the
situation a "major national emergency."
On Thursday, North Korea
reported 18,000 new "fever cases" and six deaths, one of which tested
positive for the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, state media KCNA reported on
Friday.
North Korea has not confirmed
that all "fever" cases and deaths are Covid-19, likely due to its
limited testing capability.
"A fever whose cause
couldn't be identified explosively spread nationwide since late April,"
the newspaper said. "As of now up to 187,800 people are being
isolated."
An outbreak of Covid-19 could
prove disastrous for North Korea. The country's dilapidated health care
infrastructure is unlikely to be up to the task of treating a large number of
patients with a highly infectious disease and the nation is not known to have
imported any coronavirus vaccines.
North Korea had not previously
acknowledged any coronavirus cases, though few believe that a country of around
25 million people has been spared by a virus that has infected millions
worldwide.
North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un visited the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters on Thursday and
acknowledged the spreading outbreak meant there was a "vulnerable
point" in the country's epidemic prevention system, according to KCNA.
In images of the meeting
published by state media, Kim is seen wearing a surgical mask as he enters and
leaves the meeting room. Officials accompanying him are also shown wearing
masks throughout.
"It is the most important
challenge and supreme tasks facing our party to reverse the immediate public
health crisis situation," Kim said, according to KCNA.
Following a meeting of the
country's powerful politburo on Thursday, North Korea placed all cities into
lockdown and ordered "people with fever or abnormal symptoms" into
quarantine, KCNA said.
A reporter for Chinese state
media CGTN released a rare video from Pyongyang on Friday, recounting his
experience on the ground.
"As far as we know, not
many people in Pyongyang have been vaccinated, and the medical and epidemic
prevention facilities are in short supply," reporter Zang Qing said in a
Weibo post.
"Because the capital is
in lockdown, the food I have at home is only enough for a week. We are still
awaiting what policy the government will announce next."
On Thursday, China said its
ready to provide support to North Korea in its fight against Covid-19.
North Korea's borders have
been sealed since January 2020 to keep the virus at bay, despite the knock-on
effects on trade with Beijing, an economic lifeline the impoverished country
needs to keep its people from going hungry.
"As comrades, neighbors
and friends, China stands ready to provide full support to the DPRK in its
fight against the epidemic," China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in a briefing.
North Korea is not believed to
have received any Covid vaccinations, despite being eligible for the global
Covid-19 vaccine sharing program, Covax.
Assuming most of North Korea's
population is unvaccinated, an outbreak in North Korea -- which has limited
testing capabilities, inadequate medical infrastructure and which has isolated itself
from the outside world -- could quickly become deadly.
Calls are mounting on the
country's leadership to provide access to vaccines.
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