Analysts point out that North Koreans are more vulnerable to the virus due to the lack of vaccines and the precarious health system.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the military to help distribute medicines to the population during a covid epidemic.
According to state media, more than a million people fell ill, but Pyongyang simply called the disease “fever.”
About 50 people have died, but it is unclear how many of these people have tested positive for covid. There isn’t a lot of testing for covid in North Korea, so there are few confirmed cases.
Analysts point out that North Koreans are more vulnerable to the virus due to the lack of vaccines and the precarious health system. There is a national lockdown in the country.
State media said Kim Jong-un led an emergency meeting at the weekend in which he accused paramedics of disrupting the national distribution of drug supplies.
On Saturday (5/14), Kim Jong-un said the rapidly spreading Covid-19 outbreak was a “major disaster”.
“The spread of this evil plague [o maior] It is an inconvenience that has affected our country since its establishment,” he said.
Kim Jong-un has implemented a “maximum emergency” with lockdowns and restrictions on gatherings at workplaces.
He ordered the “strong forces” of the army’s medical corps to intervene to “immediately stabilize the drug supply in Pyongyang City.”
Image: EPA/KCNA
Offer of assistance from South Korea
The country announced its first confirmed cases of covid last week – experts believe the virus has likely been circulating longer.
The international community offered to supply North Korea with millions of doses of AstraZeneca made in China last year, but Pyongyang said it contained Covid by closing its borders in early January 2020.
North Korea shares land borders with South Korea and China, both of which are facing major epidemics. China is currently facing a wave of omicrons with lockdowns in its major cities.
South Korea has offered to send aid to the North, including doses of vaccines, healthcare workers and medical equipment.
Faced with the problem of hunger since the 1990s, North Korea has fears about its direct impact on health, as well as about food production. The World Food Program estimates that 11 million of the country’s 25 million population are malnourished.
Analysts say the consequences will be extremely serious for the rest of the country if farm workers fail to till the fields.
source: Noticias
