According to state media, in the country’s capital, Pyongyang, the first cases of Covid-19 were detected, for which the authorities declared the situation as the “most serious national emergency” and ordered a national lockdown. Despite the fact that the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, ordered responses, experts are concerned about the state of the North Korean health system to deal with the crisis.
Although details of the number of infections in North Korea have not been provided, it was learned that these would be related to the BA.2 variant, also known as Omicron, highly transmissible according to the World Health Organization.
The outbreak would have been detected after obtaining the results of an unspecified number of tests carried out on people who presented a fever in Pyongyang on May 8.
“There has been the largest emergency incident in the country, with a hole in our emergency quarantine front, which has been kept safe for the last two years and three months since February 2020,” the official KCNA news agency highlighted.
It is the first time, in little more than two years, that the nation recognizes the presence of the virus in its territory. At the beginning of 2020, with the start of the pandemic, North Korea closed its borders as part of the strategy to prevent the disease, so that, until March of this year, no cases of infection had been reported.
“The state epidemic prevention work will be changed to the maximum emergency epidemic prevention system,” the KCNA added in its report.
Kim Jong-Un orders strict confinement across the country
After learning of the presence of the Omicron variant on North Korean territory, the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, called an emergency meeting of the Workers’ Party while, among other measures, ordering a strict lockdown across the nation.
“Completely block the spread of the malicious virus by completely blocking its areas in all cities and counties across the country,” reports Kim’s remarks.
According to reports, the government has ordered the mobilization of emergency medical supplies and stricter border controls to deal with the situation.
North Korean television showed Kim wearing a mask for the first time before the meeting began, but it was removed at the start of the meeting. The rest of those present maintained the use of masks throughout the meeting.
Additionally, the authorities announced special isolation measures for activities related to trade and production in order to prevent the spread of the virus.
The Seoul-based website specializing in North Korea analysis ‘NK News’ and Chinese state television reported that since May 10 some areas of the capital had been blocked due to the presence of “suspicious flu symptoms”. “in some people.
On this, the British publication ‘The Guardian’ reported on rumors of nervous purchases due to the uncertainty of how long the confinement could last.
Prior to this quarantine measure, the country’s authorities had praised the “work against the pandemic” that included, among other things, a border closure in January 2020 and the expulsion of foreigners, including diplomats and international aid workers.
For more than two years, the nation remained completely isolated, a situation that affected its already deteriorated economy as a result of the sanctions imposed against it.
At the beginning of 2022, the border crossing between the Chinese city of Dandong and North Korea’s Sinuiju was opened until the outbreak of Covid-19 on the Chinese side forced a new closure.
Experts concerned about the country’s ability to deal with the crisis
The first contagions recognized in the nation have triggered the alarms of the health authorities in the rest of the world because the situation could lead to serious problems for the country.
On the other hand, the Reuters news agency, which cites the World Health Organization (WHO), points out that there are no records that any of the almost 26 million inhabitants have been vaccinated against the disease.
In fact, the nation has refused supplies of doses from the COVAX exchange program and the Sinovac vaccine from China, leaving a large part of the population at risk of contagion.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told the British newspaper ‘The Guardian’ that the recognition of the first cases of Covid-19 by Pyongyang reveals that the “situation could be serious”, although he added that this “does not mean that North Korea will suddenly open up to humanitarian assistance and take a more conciliatory line towards Washington and Seoul”.
Although the North Korean government has not requested international aid, some neighboring countries are preparing for it. In South Korea, Kwon Young-se, a candidate for the post of Unification Minister, reported that he would prepare humanitarian assistance for North Korea, including treatment for Covid-19, syringes and other medical supplies.
For its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, a country with which North Korea has important commercial ties, indicated that they are ready to “provide full efforts” to help combat the outbreak.
The news about the first infections of Covid-19 Pyongyang, occurs on the same day that the South Korean Army detected that North Korea allegedly fired three ballistic missiles, this being the 16th round of launches this year, towards the sea from Japan.
With Reuters, AFP and AP
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