Covid-19: has North Korea entered a major health crisis? – South West

The reclusive country reported its first cases of coronavirus on Thursday, saying it was going into “maximum emergency epidemic prevention” mode, after people tested positive for Omicron’s BA.2 subvariant. The official KCNA news agency said on Friday that leader Kim Jong Un visited the national epidemic prevention headquarters where he “learned about the spread of Covid-19 throughout the country”. of “fever” have died in the country, including one who tested positive for Omicron subvariant BA.2, KCNA said. “A fever whose cause could not be identified spread explosively throughout the country from the end of April,” according to KCNA. “More than 350,000 people presented with fever in a short time and at least 162,200 of them are completely cured”, detailed the same source. “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 inhabitants is vaccinated against the coronavirus, with Pyongyang rejecting vaccination offers from the World Health Organization, China and Russia. Kim Jong Un, who first appeared on television wearing a mask, chaired a meeting on Thursday of the political office on the epidemic situation. He ordered containment measures to try to stem the spread of the virus. KCNA. North Korea, which was one of the first countries in the world to close its borders in January 2020 after the virus emerged in neighboring China, has long boasted of its ability to keep the virus at bay . It had so far not reported any confirmed cases of Covid-19 to the WHO. Failing health infrastructureThe virus may have already spread across the country, analysts say, including major events in April in Pyongyang, including a military parade on April 25 in which neither participants nor spectators wore masks. “The organization of a military parade attended by a large crowd, while the Omicron raged in neighboring China, shows that Pyongyang was overconfident in its abilities to fight and prevent the virus”, said Cheong Seong-chang, North Korea specialist at the Sejong Institute. of 20,000 cases in a single day. “If the death toll from Omicron skyrockets, Pyongyang may need to seek support from neighboring China,” he added. Beijing on Thursday offered aid to North Korea, whose health infrastructure is notoriously failing. China, the world’s only major economy to maintain a zero Covid policy, is however struggling with multiple outbreaks of Omicron despite strict confinements. and massive screenings across the country.Mr. Kim ordered “containment” measures and ordered that “those affected be isolated and treated responsibly,” KCNA reported.