North Korea’s first confirmed outbreak of Covid-19 spread after a massive military parade in Pyongyang in April, the South Korean news agency Newsis said on Wednesday, citing lawmakers briefed by the South Korean spy agency. korean.
The outbreak has prompted North Korea to rethink its opposition to accepting and distributing vaccines, Yonhap news agency said, citing the same lawmakers. The country has also increased production of medicines and medical supplies, state media KCNA said on Thursday.
The isolated country, which has imposed a nationwide lockdown, is also ramping up production of traditional Korean medicines used to reduce fever and pain, KCNA said, calling them “effective in preventing and curing the malicious disease.”
A broad wave of Covid, which North Korea first confirmed last week, has sparked concerns over a lack of medical resources and vaccines, with the UN human rights agency warning of “devastating” consequences for its 25 million people. .
KCNA said only that a wave of fever of unidentified origin began in late April.
At least 262,270 more people reported symptoms of fever, and one additional person died Wednesday night, KCNA said, citing data from the state’s headquarters for emergency epidemic prevention. It did not specify how many people tested positive for the virus.
So far, North Korea has registered 1,978,230 people with symptoms of this mystery fever and 63 deaths, and has imposed strict anti-virus measures.
Factories are producing more injections, medicines, thermometers and other medical supplies in the capital Pyongyang and nearby regions “in a flash,” while more isolation wards have been installed and disinfection work has intensified across the country, KCNA said.
“Thousands of tons of salt were urgently transported to the city of Pyongyang to produce an antiseptic solution,” KCNA said.
The reports came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un criticized the ineffective distribution of drugs and criticized the authorities for their “immature” responses to the epidemic.
Without a national Covid vaccination and treatment campaign, state media encouraged patients to use pain relievers and antibiotics as well as unverified home remedies such as gargling salt water or drinking lonicera japonica tea or willow leaf tea.
North Korean state television recommended wearing two masks outdoors, a practice Kim followed on a weekend pharmacy visit, though he did not repeat the use in footage of a Workers’ Party Politburo meeting. on Tuesday (17).
Dale Fisher, professor of medicine at the National University of Singapore, said the crisis could be underestimated because of the lack of testing and the more asymptomatic Omicron variant, and could have greater social and economic consequences in an unvaccinated community.
“The best health systems in the world have struggled in most countries, so I think it’s likely that the true health impact is not being accurately described,” Fisher said.
“An urgent rollout of vaccines is imperative, and significant public health measures and social interventions must be introduced in the meantime to slow the spread,” he added.
Three North Korean Air Koryo aircraft arrived in China and returned to Pyongyang on Monday carrying medical supplies, a diplomatic source said on condition of anonymity.
South Korea and the United States have respectively offered to help North Korea fight the virus, including sending aid, but have not received a response, Seoul’s deputy national security adviser said on Wednesday. .
Source: CNN Brasil
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