North Korean state media said the wave of COVID has subsided, after the daily number of people with fever hit 390,000 about two weeks ago.
Pyongyang has never directly confirmed how many people have tested positive for the virus, but experts suspect under-reporting in figures released by government-controlled media, making it difficult to gauge the extent of the outbreak. situation.
“We assume the situation is getting worse, not better,” Michael Ryan, the WHO’s emergency chief, said in a video briefing on Wednesday.
He said the WHO did not have access to insider information beyond the figures publicly released by state media.
“We have real problems accessing the raw data and the real situation on the ground,” Ryan said, adding that the WHO is working with neighbors like South Korea and China to try to get a better understanding. image.
The WHO has offered aid on multiple occasions, including vaccines and supplies, he added.
North Korea has reported 96,610 more people with fever as part of the nationwide lockdown aimed at containing the first confirmed outbreak of COVID-19 in the impoverished country, state news agency KCNA said on Thursday.
The media, however, did not specify whether there were new deaths.
KCNA said the provinces were “stepping up” their anti-epidemic campaigns, including enforcing certain lockdowns and coastal blockades, increasing the production of medicines and medical supplies, and carrying out disinfection works.
Essential work such as agriculture, however, continued.
North Korean Prime Minister Kim Tok Hun inspected two pharmaceutical factories, part of an effort to bring the country’s pharmaceutical industry “to the next level”, including meeting international standards, KCNA reported.
“Sufficient production and supply of medicines is a prerequisite for protecting people’s lives and health under the current rigorous anti-epidemic campaign,” he said.