JAKARTA - Indonesia has begun to relax health protocols as COVID-19 cases are sloping. Several other countries also freed their citizens from masks first. However, North Korea reported more than 200,000 new patients with fevers for five straight days as the country battles its first confirmed coronavirus outbreak.
The ongoing wave of COVID, announced last week, has fueled concerns over a lack of vaccines, inadequate medical infrastructure and a potential food crisis in a nation of 25 million that has refused outside aid and closed its borders.
According to records as of Friday evening, at least 219,030 people showed symptoms of fever bringing the total number of cases to 2,460,640, Korean Central Television (KCTV) reported citing data from the country's emergency epidemic prevention headquarters, according to Yonhap, quoted Saturday, May 21.
The death toll has increased by one person, bringing the current total number of deaths to 66 people.
Yonhap did not specify how many people had tested positive for the virus, and Reuters was unable to independently verify the report.
Without a national vaccination movement and limited testing capabilities, daily data released by state media can go underreported, and it may be difficult to assess the scale of the COVID wave, experts say.
Quoted from ANTARA, the United Nations' human rights agency has warned of "devastating" consequences for its 25 million people.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said uncontrolled spread could lead to the emergence of new, more deadly variants.
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