Another eight deaths due to "fever" have been recorded in North Korea, four days after the official announcement of the first cases of the new coronavirus in the isolated country, the official North Korean news agency KCNA reported yesterday, Sunday.
The country's leader Kim Jong-un has ordered an immediate mobilisation of the army[/B] to resolve problems with "medicine stocks" in the capital Pyongyang, according to the same source.
The epidemic, which Kim Jong-un says is causing "great upheaval", is hitting a country whose health system is among the worst prepared in the world.
North Korea has no vaccine against COVID-19, no medicine to treat SARS-CoV-2, nor the means to do mass testing.
According to KCNA, Kim Jong-un criticized, during an emergency meeting of the Politburo yesterday, that "the orders have not yet been properly executed" and that "no medicine has been made available to pharmacies," which have also failed to implement the order to stay open 24 hours a day.
He spoke of "irresponsible" behavior by the health sector and the government and added that he ordered the army medical corps to "immediately stabilize the supply of medicines" to Pyongyang.
Last week, North Korea revealed it is facing an outbreak of a pandemic of the new coronavirus that is spreading in an "explosive" manner.
Yesterday, it announced that another 392,920 people had developed a "fever." According to KCNA's numbers, at least 50 people have succumbed, civilians with "fever" have reached 1,213,550 and at least 564,860 are receiving treatment.
South Korea's new President Yun Suk-gel has promised that his government will spare no effort to assist North Korea, as the isolated state has faced an outbreak of the new coronavirus pandemic, insisting he is prepared to provide any humanitarian aid Pyongyang requests.
"If North Korea responds (to the offer of aid), we will spare no effort," conservative President Yun said, promising to send "COVID-19 vaccines, medical equipment and health personnel" during a speech before parliament.
During the same speech, Mr. Yun also said he intends to discuss with US President Joe Biden - expected in Seoul later this week - the strengthening of cooperation in terms of international supply chains through the Indo-Pacific Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.
The international situation
The number of officially recorded cases of the new coronavirus in Africa reached 11,555,033 on Sunday night, the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC) said.
According to data compiled by the ACDCs, a public health agency of the African Union, the death toll from the pandemic across the continent has so far reached 252,637.
The highest numbers of infections are recorded in South Africa (3.88 million), Morocco (1.16 million), Tunisia and Libya.
The southern sector of Africa is the most affected, followed by the northern and eastern sectors. The central part of the continent has been hit the least hard so far, always according to ACDC figures.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of Health announced today that 1,227 cases of SARS-CoV-2 were confirmed in mainland China in the past 24 hours, 151 with symptoms and 1.076 asymptomatic, while 4 patients succumbed due to complications of COVID-19.
Officially, the death toll from the pandemic in China, where the new coronavirus was identified more than two years ago, has reached 5,213 deaths out of a total of 221,955 infections with symptoms of the infection. It is generally considered underestimated by experts.
In addition, Vietnam's Ministry of Health announced yesterday Sunday that 1,594 cases of SARS-CoV-2 had been confirmed in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total to 10,696,630.
No patients have succumbed due to complications of COVID-19; the death toll from the pandemic of the new coronavirus remained unchanged at 43,065.
The nation of 96 million people has been granted nearly 217 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
In addition, the Malaysian Ministry of Health announced today that in the 24 hours to midnight yesterday, 3 patients succumbed to complications of COVID-19 and 2 were confirmed.239 cases of SARS-CoV-2.
The death toll from the pandemic of the new coronavirus in the country of 33 million people reached 35,615 out of a total of 4,478,112 infections.
The so-called active cases increased to 30,735. There are 45 patients with COVID-19 in intensive care units (ICUs), 23 intubated.
82.5% of the population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 49.2% have received booster doses.
Source: CNA
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