North Korea says it has found no new coronavirus infections

142
2
North Korea says it has found no new coronavirus infections

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared victory in the battle against the novel coronaviruses, ordering a lifting of maximum anti-epidemic measures imposed in May, state media said on Thursday.

North Korea hasn't revealed how many confirmed infections of the virus it has found, but since July 29 it has reported no new suspected cases with limited testing capabilities, according to international aid organizations.

According to a report by state news agency KCNA, Kim said that North Korea must maintain a strong anti-epidemic barrier and intensify anti-epidemic work until the end of the global health crisis.

The authoritarian North has used the pandemic to tighten social controls, but analysts said that it could be a precursor to restoring trade hampered by border lockdowns and other restrictions.

Observers have said it may clear the way for the North to conduct a nuclear weapon test for the first time since 2017.

North Korea has a death rate of 74 people, which is a remarkable miracle compared to other countries, according to a KCNA official.

North Korea reported a number of people with fever symptoms instead of confirmed cases. On May 15, the daily cases reached more than 392,920, prompting health experts to warn of an inevitable crisis.

Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, said the North Korean leader himself had suffered from fever symptoms and blamed leaflets from South Korea for the outbreak.

She spoke about the people he had to take care of until the end in the face of the anti-epidemic war, even though he was seriously ill with a high fever, he could not lie down for a moment thinking about them, even though he was seriously ill with a high fever, he said in a speech praising his efforts.

The World Health Organization has cast doubts on North Korea's claims, saying last month it believed that the situation was getting worse, not better, because of an absence of independent data.

Pyongyang has a declaration of victory despite the fact that there is no known vaccine program. The country said it relied on lockdowns, homegrown medicine treatments, and what Kim called the advantageous Korean-style socialist system. The North has been involved in intensive medical checks across the country, with daily P.C. R. tests on water collected in borderline areas were among the measures.

It has been developing new methods to detect the virus and its variants, as well as other infectious diseases, such as monkeypox.