North Korea reports suspected Covid cases on China border two weeks after declaring victory over virus
Two weeks after North Korea declared victory over the coronavirus, the country has reported four suspected cases in a province near its border with China.
The area where the suspected cases were found was “immediately locked down,” state news agency reported Tuesday.
Citing the country’s State Emergency Epidemic Prevention Headquarters, the agency said four “fever cases suspected of being infected with malignant epidemic occurred at a unit in Ryanggang province on August 23.”
North Korea has limited testing capabilities and refers to suspected Covid infections as “fever cases.”
It acknowledged its first confirmed cases of Covid-19 in May, when it reported what it referred to as an “explosive” outbreak and a “major national emergency”.
It has since gone on to record 4.77 million suspected cases, but has reported no new ones since July 29 and on August 11 leader Kim Jong Un declared victory over the virus.
However, many experts — including those at the World Health Organization — have cast doubts on its claims.
One source of skepticism is its death rate, which to many experts appears unusually low especially given the vast majority of its people are thought to be unvaccinated. The country of 25 million has officially reported 74 deaths.
Agencies