En the day after confirmation of the first corona outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic, North Korea reported the first Covid 19 death. A total of six people died of a fever, the state news agency KCNA reported on Friday. One of them had previously tested positive for the highly contagious omicron variant BA.2. 187,000 people with fever were placed in isolation.
“A fever, the cause of which could not be determined, has exploded across the country since late April,” the report said. On Thursday alone, around 18,000 people across the country were suffering from fever.
Regime in Pyongyang speaks of “serious national emergency”
The internationally isolated country confirmed the first corona outbreak since the pandemic began more than two years ago on Thursday. KCNA reported it was a “major national emergency.” Ruler Kim Jong-un ordered nationwide lockdowns.
The already isolated communist country sealed off its borders at the beginning of 2020 to protect itself from the pandemic. According to experts, North Korea’s health system would struggle to cope with a major virus outbreak.
Unlike in neighboring countries, hardly any of North Korea’s 25 million inhabitants have been vaccinated against the corona virus. North Korea had so far rejected vaccine offers from the World Health Organization (WHO), China and Russia.
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