North Korea sees suspected COVID-19 cases after victory claim

SEOUL: North Korea on Thursday (Aug 25) said it found four new temperature cases in its border region with China and taiwan that may have been caused by coronavirus infections, fourteen days after leader Kim Jong Un declared a widely disputed victory over COVID-19.

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central Information Agency said wellness workers were performing genetic tests over the samples taken from four people in the Ryanggang Province who exhibited fevers to confirm whether or not the symptoms were caused by the “malignant epidemic”.

The Northern often uses that term, along with “malignant virus, ” to describe COVID-19 and the coronavirus.

Authorities instantly locked down the locations where the fever situations emerged and will maintain tight restrictions until health workers figure out the cause of the illness, KCNA said.

North Korea said there were no confirmed COVID-19 cases in any portion of the country since Aug 10 when Kim declared victory over the virus and purchased preventive measures eased, simply three months after the country acknowledged an break out.

While Kim claimed that the country’s success against the virus would be recognized as a worldwide health miracle, experts believe the Northern has manipulated disclosures on its break out to help him preserve absolute control. The victory statement indicators Kim’s aim to proceed to other priorities, which includes a possible nuclear check, experts say.

After admitting to an omicron outbreak of the virus in May, Northern Korea reported regarding 4. 8 million “fever cases” across its mostly unvaccinated population of twenty six million but only identified a fraction of them as COVID-19.

It stated just 74 people have died, which experts see as an abnormally small number considering the country’s lack of public wellness tools.