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Updated May 14th, 2022 at 12:45 IST

Kim Jong-un calls North Korea's advancing COVID-19 outbreak 'great turmoil'

As North Korea is reeling under the spread of coronavirus, its leader Kim Jong-un stated the country is faced with "great turmoil" due to the ongoing situation.

Reported by: Anurag Roushan
Kim Jong un
Image: Pixabay/AP | Image:self
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As North Korea is reeling under the spread of coronavirus, its supreme leader Kim Jong-un stated that the country is confronting a 'great turmoil' owing to the prevailing situation. On Saturday morning, Jong-un convened a meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and debated ways to quell the spread of the deadly virus. In the meeting, Kim also reviewed the country's "maximum emergency" antivirus system in place and discussed ways to ramp up the distribution of emergency medical supplies, Yonhap reported citing the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters briefed the North Korean leader on the current circumstances, terming it as "great turmoil in the history of the country." Meanwhile, Kim asked concerned authorities to learn from the "successful" coronavirus control measures of other nations, including China. He also urged people to have "faith" that the virus crisis will be resolved soon, adding that it is not uncontrollable because it is limited to certain areas that have already been placed under lockdown.

North Korea COVID outbreak could be linked to big military parade on April 25: Report

According to the World Health Organization, North Korea has tested only 64,200 people since the pandemic began, a very low number when compared to other countries. In South Korea, around 172 million COVID-19 tests have been performed, it claimed. As per a report by the AP, the outbreak in North Korea could be linked to a large military parade on April 25, during which, Kim Jong-un addressed a large gathering of tens of thousands of Pyongyang residents and troops. The report further stated that the outbreak could be catastrophic as North Koreans are largely unvaccinated and the country has a chronic dearth of drugs and medical equipment.

North Korea's COVID-19 report

After confirming the first-ever COVID-19 case since the pandemic commenced, the country imposed nationwide lockdowns on Thursday, May 12. As per KCNA, a total of 524,440 individuals in North Korea showed signs of fever between late Friday to May 13. Out of them, as many as 243,630 have been entirely cured, with nearly 280,810 still being treated. Meanwhile, coronavirus-related deaths in the country have reached to 27. So far, one death has been officially linked to the Omicron infection in the country. 

Image: Unsplash/AP

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Published May 14th, 2022 at 12:45 IST

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