North Korea reports two lakh new fever cases during Covid pandemic

By Lokmat English Desk | Published: May 21, 2022 01:09 PM2022-05-21T13:09:09+5:302022-05-21T13:09:09+5:30

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North Korea on Saturday confirmed that about 220,000 more people had symptoms of fever. At the same time, its leader Kim Jong Un has said that the country has made progress in slowing the Covid cases. However, the country's 2.6 crore population has not taken the dose of the anti-Covid-19 vaccine.

The spread of the coronavirus has raised concerns about the dire situation in a poor and isolated country with one of the world's worst health systems. Experts say that North Korea is underestimating the true scale of the spread of infection.

North Korea said that more than 2.4 million people have fallen ill and 66 have died due to the rapidly spreading unknown fever since the end of April.

The capital Pyongyang is the epicenter of this infection. Kim told a meeting of the ruling party's Politburo on Saturday that the spread of infection in the country was under control. He also indicated relaxation of pandemic restrictions to ease economic troubles.

Video released by state media also showed Kim crying during the funeral of top North Korean military official Hyun Chol Hee on Saturday. It is believed that during the reign of Kim Jong II, his son Kim was groomed as a future leader.