Fever Cases Rise To 167,650 People, North Korea Ignores US And South Korean Offers Of Aid
North Korean officials spray disinfectant to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. (Source: KCNA)

JAKARTA - North Korea again registered fever cases below 200,000 for the second straight day, state media said Monday, with Pyongyang ignoring offers of South Korean and the United States assistance to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.

The wave of COVID, which was declared on May 12, has fueled fears of a lack of vaccines, inadequate medical infrastructure, and a potential food crisis in the nation of 25 million.

North Korea reported 167,650 new patients with fever on Monday and one more death. More than 2.33 million of the 2.81 million cumulative cases reported since late April had recovered as of Sunday evening. The official death toll stands at 68," state news agency KCNA said.

While remaining silent on offers of aid, North Korea has boasted of a "favorable turn" in the country's virus situation.

"Crisis awareness and responsibility are further raised in every region, sector, workplace, and post across the country to maintain a favorable turn, in epidemic prevention work, and all epidemic penetrations are checked, through the implementation of strict regional and unit lockdowns and blockades," KCNA explained.

Such COVID-19 restrictions may play a role in North Korea's lack of response, a senior US government official said Sunday.

Known to be experiencing a shortage of testing supplies, North Korea has yet to confirm the total number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus. In contrast, health authorities reported a number with feverish symptoms, making it difficult to judge the scale of the COVID wave, experts said.

Authorities have been distributing food and medicine across the country, with military medics deployed to help distribute medicine and carry out checks.

KCNA, said pharmaceutical factories were "speeding up production," but did not specify which drugs were being produced.

US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that Washington had offered a COVID-19 vaccine to China and North Korea, but had "no response."

"We didn't get a response," President Biden said.


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