Activating Emergency Epidemic Prevention System, North Korea Claims COVID-19 Outbreak Is Under Control

North Korea continues to spray disinfectant to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. (Source: KCNA)

JAKARTA - North Korean authorities claim to have managed to control the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, after reporting for the third day in a row less than 200.000 new patients with fever symptoms on Tuesday.

The COVID-19 wave, which North Korea first announced on May 12, has sparked fears of a lack of vaccines, inadequate medical infrastructure, and a potential food crisis in the nation of 25 million.

At least 134.510 new people showed symptoms of fever as of Monday evening, bringing the total number of cases to 2.95 million since the end of April. Meanwhile, the death toll reached 68, the official KCNA news agency reported, as reported by Reuters May 24.

KCNA said North Korea had reported "success" in the fight against the COVID outbreak.

"In the few days after the maximum emergency epidemic prevention system was activated, the national morbidity and mortality rates have drastically decreased and the number of recovered people increased. Thus effectively limiting and controlling the spread of the pandemic disease and maintaining clear clarity. The situation is stable," KCNA reported.

North Korea said it was expanding the production of supplies of essential medicines, although it did not specify exactly what types it would produce.

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

North Korea says authorities are distributing food and medicine across the country, with military medics deployed to help distribute medicine and carry out checks.

Previously, South Korea and the United States had proposed to help North Korea fight the pandemic, including with a vaccine, but Pyongyang has not responded to the offer.