North Korea reported 42 deaths on Sunday, as the country entered its fourth day of a national lockdown intended at containing the impoverished country’s first documented COVID-19 epidemic.
North Korea’s declaration on Thursday that it is fighting a “explosive” COVID-19 epidemic has aroused fears that the virus may decimate a country with a restricted health-care system, limited testing skills, and no vaccine program.
The Korea is adopting “rapid state emergency measures” to suppress the pandemic, according to state news agency KCNA, although there is no indication that Pyongyang is willing to accept foreign offers of vaccinations.
According to KCNA, North Korea has recorded 820,620 suspected cases, with 324,550 currently receiving medical care.
“Since the morning of May 12, all provinces, cities, and counties in the country have been totally locked down, and working units, production units, and residential units have been closed off from each other, and strict and intensive examinations of all people are being conducted,” KCNA reported on Sunday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared a day earlier that the spread of COVID-19 had thrown his country into “grave upheaval,” and he called for an all-out campaign to end the epidemic.
Kim, who said he was giving part of his own medication supplies to support the anti-virus effort, urged officials to learn from other countries’ effective pandemic responses, citing China as an example.