SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other senior officials have prepared aid to be sent to 800 families suffering from an unknown intestinal epidemic, state media reported on Friday, as the country also struggled with the first outbreak of COVID-19.
North Korea revealed this week that it has been facing an “acute intestinal epidemic” in addition to the outbreak of the new Corona virus (Covid) for weeks. He did not explain what the disease was, but enteric refers to the digestive system.
“Officials have prepared … medicines, foodstuffs, daily necessities for the treatment of the epidemic and a stable life to provide assistance to people in Haeju City and Kangryong County (South Hwanghae Province)”, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. ) He said.
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Leader Kim called on officials to “perform their duty to work to relieve the suffering and suffering of the people as soon as possible.”
On Thursday, a South Korean Unification Ministry official in charge of inter-Korean affairs said Seoul is monitoring the outbreak, which is suspected to have cholera or typhoid.
South Hwanghae Province is North Korea’s main agricultural region and the outbreak has raised concerns that may worsen chronic food shortages amid a wave of COVID-19 infections. Read more
North Korea has reported numbers of patients with fever symptoms, rather than confirmed COVID cases, possibly due to a lack of testing capacity.
Another 23,160 people showed symptoms of fever, the Korean Central News Agency reported on Friday, bringing the total number in the country since late April to more than 4.58 million. The death toll linked to the outbreak was 73.
North Korea said more than 99% of its fever patients have recovered and that the COVID wave has shown signs of abating, but the World Health Organization disputed Pyongyang’s claims earlier this month, saying it believed the situation was getting worse. Read more
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(Guri Roh reports). Lincoln Fest Editing.
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