North Korea reports four new ‘fever’ cases

This picture taken on June 10, 2022 and released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 11 shows a Pyongyang City Sanitation and Quarantine Station staff testing for Covid-19 coronavirus infections in Pyongyang. AFP

SEOUL— North Korea’s state media reported four new fever cases Thursday, saying they were suspected of being infected with the “malignant epidemic” — just two weeks after the country declared victory over Covid-19.

The isolated nation, which has maintained a rigid blockade since the start of the pandemic, confirmed an Omicron outbreak in the capital Pyongyang in May.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — who also fell ill during the outbreak — declared victory over the virus earlier this month and ordered the lifting of the country’s “maximum emergency epidemic prevention system” as officially reported cases fell to zero.

But four new fever cases were recorded in Ryanggang province — which borders China — on August 23, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters.

Authorities “immediately locked down the area where fever cases occurred and at the same time urgently mobilized rapid mobile anti-epidemic teams and rapid diagnosis and treatment team,” KCNA said.

They are also “taking measures to probe into the cause of the fever outbreak,” it said.

Students of the Pyongyang Jang Chol Gu University of Commerce undergo temperature checks before entering the campus, as part of preventative measures against Covid-19, in Pyongyang on August 11, 2021. AFP

North Korea refers to “fever patients” rather than “Covid patients” in case reports, apparently due to a lack of testing capacity.

It has recorded nearly 4.8 million “fever” infections and just 74 deaths for an official fatality rate of 0.002 percent, according to state media. It has reported no new cases since July 29, until now.

Experts, including the World Health Organization, have long questioned Pyongyang’s Covid statistics and claims to have brought the outbreak under control.

North Korea has one of the world’s worst healthcare systems, with poorly equipped hospitals, few intensive care units and no Covid treatment drugs, experts say.

It is not believed to have vaccinated any of its 25 million residents, although it may have received some vaccines from China, Seoul-based specialist site NK News has reported.

Pyongyang has blamed the outbreak on the South Korea and warned of “retaliation”.

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