North Korea announced officially for the first time today, Friday, that six people had died as a result of infection with Covid-19, and that about 18,000 people had developed symptoms of fever the previous day.
And the North’s Korean Central News Agency reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the National Emergency Quarantine Command Center on Thursday to learn about the efforts made to confront the virus.
More than 18,000 people were confirmed to have COVID-19 across North Korea on Thursday, in addition to six deaths from the virus, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
It is noteworthy that since the end of last April, an unknown fever has spread throughout the country, affecting 350,000 people, according to the North Korean Central Agency. She added that 162,000 people have been treated so far.
The agency said the cause of the fever could not be determined and said it had “suddenly spread throughout the country”.
It is not yet clear how many people have actually contracted the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
Observers said that the numbers indicate the potential size of the virus outbreak in the country. Experts have long warned that North Korea would struggle to deal with cases in the event of a major outbreak due to deficiencies in its health system.
On Thursday, the North Korean leader ordered a nationwide lockdown, with all cities closed. It is unclear how citizens will obtain essential goods while they are required to stay at home.
The North Korean leadership had closed the country’s borders with the onset of the pandemic.
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