North Korea has declared a “major national emergency” after the first case of covid-19 was detected in the capital. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the closure of all cities in the country.
State media reported Thursday, May 12, that the omicron variant, which is highly contagious, was detected in a sample collected in the city of Pyongyang earlier this month.
So far it is not clear how many infections have been detected, but the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that they had found cases of the omicron variant in the capital. The ruling Workers’ Party of Korea declared that the “maximum emergency” virus control system must be implemented.
KCNA said leader Kim Jong-un called a meeting of the party’s political bureau on Thursday and instructed officials to fully lock down all cities and counties across the country as he pushes for measures to curb the outbreak. Later that day, Korea Central Television broadcast footage showing the North Korean leader wearing a protective mask during the meeting.
North Korea had not previously acknowledged any cases of coronavirus, though few believe a country of around 25 million people has been spared a virus that has infected millions around the world.
North Korea’s borders with China, its largest trading partner, and Russia have been closed since January 2020 to prevent the intrusion of the virus, despite the fact that this dealt a severe blow to the country’s economy, also making it difficult to supply food. supplies to meet the basic needs of its inhabitants.
In August 2020, North Korea said it was pushing the development of a coronavirus vaccine, but no further information has since been released. It has also not provided information on its Covid-19 vaccination status to the World Health Organization, according to the latest status report.
According to Kim Sin-gon, a professor of medicine at Seoul University in South Korea, if the majority of North Korea’s population is not vaccinated, and considering the country has limited testing capabilities, inadequate medical infrastructure and that it has isolated itself from the outside world, should the outbreak of this disease manage to spread, the results would be potentially devastating, and it would be the greatest threat the Kim Jong-un regime has ever faced.