North Korea's reported Covid infections seem to plateau

North Korea

Published: 19 May. 2022, 16:45

North Korea's reported Covid infections seem to plateau

North Korea's state-run Rodong Sinmun on Thursday published this photo of soldiers distributing medical supplies, following an order by leader Kim Jong-un to deploy the military to ensure stable distribution through pharmacies. [NEWS1]

North Korea reported 260,000 new cases of people with fever symptoms on Wednesday as its Covid-19 outbreak spreads.

According to statistics from Pyongyang’s anti-disease headquarters on Thursday, 262,270 more people nationwide showed fevers and other symptoms of Covid-19 between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 6 p.m. Wednesday, while 213,280 recovered. One death was recorded in the period.

The total of people with fever symptoms reported by the country since the outbreak was discovered at the end of April has now reached 1,978,230 nationwide.

Because of its limited testing ability, the North is reporting people with symptoms rather than confirmed infections.

Of these, 1,238,000 are said to have recovered, and 741,160 are currently undergoing treatment, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The cumulative death toll is 63.

The officially reported number of daily suspected infections appears to have reached a stable, albeit high, level since peaking at 392,910 on Sunday, with 269,510 cases recorded on Monday.

The North has expressed confidence that it can manage the spread of Covid-19, with statements from the ruling Workers’ Party noting “an improving trend” at a meeting of the party's Politburo Standing Committee on Tuesday.

KCNA’s latest reports encouraged North Koreans to rely on traditional medicines and painkillers such as ibuprofen to keep the virus at bay, highlighting how few options the isolated country has to fight the contagion.

With most of its population unvaccinated, state media have described people gargling with salt water or drinking herbal tea as a way to keep Covid-19 at bay.

Traditional medicines are “effective in prevention and cure of the virulent disease,” KCNA said, despite a lack of medical evidence for such claims.

North Korea has snubbed offers of aid from South Korea and the United States, choosing to rely on China for support.

North Korea is believed to have flown in emergency supplies from China Tuesday via three large cargo aircraft belonging to Air Koryo, the North Korean state-run airline.

The planes arrived at Shenyang Taoxian Airport in Liaoning Province, northeastern China, on Tuesday morning and returned to North Korea the same afternoon, according to multiple sources in the region who spoke to the JoongAng Ilbo on condition of anonymity.

The aircraft were all Russian-made Ilyushin Il-76, the multi-purpose transport plane capable of carrying 50 tons of cargo and the largest plane in the North Korean air fleet. The North is known to have three Il-76s.

The kind of cargo picked up has not been identified, but there is a high probability that it was supplies to deal with the outbreak.

Support from China comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a Politburo meeting ordered the deployment of the country’s military to ensure a stable distribution of medicines, which will be handed out to the public through pharmacies that will remain open around the clock.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]