North Korea announces first death from Covid-19 and “spread throughout the country” – franceinfo

The North Korean authorities have identified six dead victims of “fever”, including one who tested positive for the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron. Article written by Published on 05/13/2022 06:29 Reading time: 1 min. The virus has already spread “throughout the country”. North Korea announced on Friday May 13 the first death from Covid-19. More than 187,000 people with fever are “isolated and treated”. Six people with “fever” have died in the country, including one who tested positive for Omicron’s BA.2 subvariant, according to the official KCNA news agency. “A fever whose cause could not be identified spread explosively throughout the country from the end of April,” KCNA said. Leader Kim Jong Un visited the National Epidemic Prevention Headquarters and “learned about the spread of Covid-19 throughout the country.” North Korea has thus gone into “maximum emergency prevention of epidemics” mode. “More than 350,000 people showed fever in a short time and at least 162,200 of them are completely cured,” detailed the KCNA agency. “On May 12 alone, some 18,000 people had a fever across the country and, at present, 187,800 people are isolated and treated.” None of the 25 million population is vaccinated against the coronavirus, as Pyongyang has rejected vaccination offers from the World Health Organization, China and Russia. Kim Jong Un, who first appeared on television wearing a mask, chaired an emergency politburo meeting on the epidemic situation on Thursday. He ordered containment measures to try to stem the spread of the virus. Covid may have already spread across the country, analysts say, including major events in April in Pyongyang, including a military parade in which neither participants nor spectators wore masks. Share: Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share by email Share link