The World Health Organization has questioned North Korea’s claims of progress in fighting a Covid-19 outbreak, saying it believes the situation is getting worse, not better, amid the lack of independent data.
North Korean state media have claimed that the Covid wave has slowed, after the daily number of people with fever exceeded 390,000 about two weeks ago.
Pyongyang has never directly confirmed how many people have tested positive for the virus, but experts suspect that figures released through government-controlled media are insufficient, making it difficult to assess the scale of the situation.
“We assume that the situation is getting worse, not better,” World Health Organization (WHO) Chief Emergency Officer Michael Ryan said on Wednesday during a video briefing.
He said the WHO did not have access to any inside information beyond the figures publicly reported by the state media.
“We have real problems accessing raw data and the real situation on the ground,” Ryan said, adding that the WHO was working with South Korea and China to try to get a better picture and get help. . en.
North Korea has rejected the blows offered by the WHO and has not vaccinated any of its approximately 25 million people.
Korea’s Central News Agency (KCNA) reported 96,600 “feverish cases” in 24 hours in the early hours of Thursday, for a total of 3.8 million cases since the end of April. No further deaths were reported, with 69 deaths at the end of last week.
It was the third consecutive daily count below 100,000, below a high of 390,000 daily cases in mid-May, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
Despite having one of the worst health systems in the world, KCNA reported on Thursday that more than 95% of cases had recovered.
A sign outside the department store no. Pyongyang May 1 depicts people wearing masks and says “Showing beautiful virtues and communist traits.” Photo: Kim Won Jin / AFP / Getty Images
Ryan stressed the importance of curbing the outbreak in the impoverished country. “It simply came to our notice then. We have offered vaccines on three different occasions. We continue to offer, “he said.
He said the UN health agency had repeatedly warned that the virus causing Covid-19 should not be allowed to spread uncontrollably, among other things, as it would then be more likely to mutate and produce potentially new variants. dangerous.
“We don’t want to see an intense transmission of this disease in a predominantly susceptible population, in a health system that has already weakened,” Ryan said. “It ‘s not that it’ s not good for the people of [North Korea]. This is not good for the region. That’s not good for the world. “
KCNA said the provinces were “intensifying” their anti-epidemic campaigns, including the implementation of some coastal blockades and blockades, increased production of medicines and medical supplies, and disinfection work. Key work such as agriculture continued, he said.
North Korean Prime Minister Kim Tok-hun inspected a couple of pharmaceutical factories amid a push to bring the country’s pharmaceutical industry to “a new higher standard,” including compliance with international standards, KCNA reported. . “Sufficient production and supply of medicines serve as a prerequisite for protecting the lives and health of people in the current rigorous anti-epidemic campaign,” he said.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report