North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called his country’s response to the first confirmed Covid-19 outbreak as immature, accusing government officials of inconsistency and inaction as cases of fever spread across the country, state media reported. this Wednesday (18).
North Korea reported 232,880 more people with fever symptoms and six more deaths after it revealed the outbreak of the new coronavirus last week. The country does not report how many people have tested positive for Covid-19.
Chairing a meeting of the Workers’ Party Politburo on Tuesday, Kim said “immaturity in the state’s ability to deal with the crisis” has added to the “complexity and difficulties” in fighting the pandemic, according to KCNA.
Since the outbreak of the disease was first recognized, the country has now recorded 1.72 million patients with symptoms of fever, including 62 deaths as of Tuesday.
However, North Korea also said the virus situation in the country was taking a “favorable turn”, adding that the party meeting discussed “keeping the good chance on the general epidemic prevention front”.
The report did not detail what reasons led to such a positive assessment. The country has not started vaccination and has limited testing capacity, leaving many experts concerned about the difficulty of assessing how widely and quickly the disease is spreading.
According to KCNA, North Korea has been pushing to better handle “the collection, transport and testing of samples from people with fever, while establishing additional quarantine facilities.”
The state agency also said health officials had developed a Covid-19 treatment guide aimed at preventing drug overdoses and other problems.
Authorities and researchers have intensified efforts to “develop and massively produce effective drugs in the treatment of malignant virus infection and establish more rational methods of diagnosis and treatment,” KCNA reported, without detailing which drugs would be.
Faced with an “explosive” Covid-19 outbreak, North Korea has mobilized its armed forces, including 3,000 military doctors, for a 24-hour drug delivery system, with 500 response groups to test and treat infected patients.
State television showed a large number of soldiers gathered in a square to support work against the virus.
A spokesperson for the UN human rights office said on Tuesday that measures taken by Pyongyang to combat the disease could have “devastating” consequences for human rights in the country, as restrictions imposed could limit access to food. .
South Korea has offered to send medical supplies, including vaccines, masks and test kits, as well as technical cooperation, to the North, but has yet to receive a response.
Source: CNN Brasil
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