North Korea: 21 new deaths in the midst of the Covid-19 epidemic
South Koreans watch a TV screen showing a report on the Covid-19 outbreak in North Korea, at a train station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 14, 2022. AP - Ahn Young-joon
Text by: RFI Follow
4 mins
Twenty-one additional deaths from "
fever
" have occurred in North Korea, which reported more than half a million patients on Saturday, two days after the official announcement of the very first case of Covid-19.
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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 being able to keep the virus at bay.
But on Thursday, leader Kim Jong-un announced hundreds of thousands of cases of "
suspicious fever
", including 18,000 new ones in 24 hours.
It had not previously reported any confirmed cases of Covid-19 to the WHO.
"
The number of people with fever between the end of April and May 13 is over 524,440
," said KCNA, the state news agency.
On Friday alone, "
more than 174,440 people presented with fever, at least
81,430 have fully recovered and 21 have died
", bringing the total number of deaths to 27.
It does not specify whether these new cases and these deaths have all tested positive for Covid-19, but experts assure that the country does not have the capacity to massively test its population.
"
It is no exaggeration to consider these 'fever' cases to be all coronavirus cases, given the lack of testing capacity
," said Cheong Seong-chang, North Korea specialist at the Sejong Institute. .
“
The actual number of Covid cases could be higher than the figures showing people with fever due to many asymptomatic cases
,” he said.
“
A people at the mercy of any virus
”
Since May 12, the North Korean regime has decreed a "
maximum emergency prevention of epidemics
" system, involving strict containment measures, after the discovery of the
BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron
on its territory.
The country, which explains that the virus has spread in the country, says that tens of thousands of people are "
isolated and treated
".
But the drought that weighs on the country complicates its economic situation, according to Juliette Morillot, specialist in Korea and author of
South Korea in 100 questions
.
"
North Korea is in total lockdown, economically drained, with a people who are at the mercy of any virus, because if there aren't a lot of elderly people in North Korea who are vulnerable, everyone rest of the population is rather malnourished
, ”she explains at the microphone of
Cléa Broadhurst
of the international service.
An employee of the Kyonghung Food General Store disinfects the showroom in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, November 10, 2021. AP - Jon Chol Jin
Strangled by international sanctions that apply to all sectors of the economy, the reclusive country of 25 million inhabitants is also suffering from the total cessation of exports with its Chinese neighbor.
“
There is no famine yet, but food is not very abundant.
The people are weak so they are truly at the mercy of a catastrophic epidemic
,” adds Juliette Morillot.
► To read also:
First death linked to Covid-19 in North Korea, China offers its help
A request for help from neighboring countries
On Saturday, a second meeting of the political bureau was held, during which Kim Jong-un recognizes that "
the spread of a malignant disease is coming to upset our country
", according to KCNA.
He promises a “
rapid distribution of emergency drugs
” and assured that he wants to introduce “
methods of treatment for patients, including those with special constitutions
” in order to “
minimize human losses
”.
A way for Pyongyang to ask for help from neighboring countries, continues Juliette Morillot.
“
North Korea wants to avoid an epidemic tidal wave, to protect the elites.
She sees what is happening in China and she knows that a real epidemic would be a real humanitarian disaster.
»
Kim Jong-un announced that he would adopt the Chinese model of the fight against the coronavirus from which he wishes to learn "
the lessons of the fruitful experiences and achievements of the Chinese Communist Party in the prevention of the virus
".
If they accept help, it will obviously be from Beijing.
Moreover, at the end of April, you had massive arrivals of Hazmat protective suits and masks from China, which means that the concerns of the arrival of Covid-19 and Omicron inside Korea of the North are very real.
China, the only major economy in the world to maintain a
“
Zero Covid
”
policy , however, is grappling with multiple outbreaks of Omicron despite strict lockdowns and massive screenings across the country.
Another daunting challenge for North Korea: none of the 25 million population is vaccinated against the coronavirus, Pyongyang having rejected vaccination offers from the WHO, China and Russia.
Beijing offered aid to North Korea on Thursday and Seoul offered to send vaccines on Friday.
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