Hundreds of thousands of people have ‘fever’, 42 deaths from COVID-19

The report on the deaths from the epidemic said that “a large part” of it was caused by “carelessness in taking medicines because of a lack of knowledge and understanding of the epidemic”.

According to the Korean Central News Agency KCNAin the past day, the country recorded at least 296,180 more people with “fever”, bringing the number of suspected cases to 820,620 people, of which 324,550 people are receiving medical treatment.

Experts say North Korea does not have the capacity to test all patients with symptoms.

Outbreak COVID-19 in North Korea has raised concerns that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could wreak havoc on the country’s under-resourced health system, limited testing capacity and no vaccination program.

KCNA said Pyongyang is taking “urgent measures of the highest level” to control the epidemic, but so far the North Korean government has not accepted international offers for a COVID-19 vaccine.

“All provinces, cities and counties across the country have been completely locked down. Agencies, production units and residential areas are all closed since the morning of May 12, strict testing of all residents is underway.“, KCNA news.

North Korean health authorities have set up more checkpoints to prevent and control the epidemic and urgently transport medical supplies to hospitals and medical stations.

On May 14, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un acknowledged that the spread of COVID-19 had pushed the country into “chaos” and called for an all-out campaign to tackle the outbreak.

Before this outbreak, North Korea had claimed to have no cases of COVID-19. At the time, the country was one of only two countries in the world that had not yet begun a COVID-19 vaccination campaign, according to the World Health Organization – Pyongyang refused to receive the vaccine from the distribution agency. international vaccine Covax.

Analysts say COVID-19 may have spread as North Korea celebrated major holidays in April – including a massive military parade in Pyongyang with thousands of participants and spectators not wearing masks. Page.