North Korea recorded hundreds of thousands of new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday. At the same time announced that a million people have recovered from suspected transmission only a week after the country confirmed an outbreak, which raised concerns among experts.
According to a report from AP, Pyongyang documented 232,880 new cases of fever and six additional deaths. Since late April, there have been 62 deaths and more than 1.7 million fever cases, according to these numbers. More than a million people have recovered, but at least 691,170 are still in quarantine per North Korea's state media.
Foreign health experts believe COVID-19 caused the majority of the fevers, but North Korea lacks the necessary tests to confirm the large number.
It is also unknown how more than a million people recovered so fast when the country's impoverished, unvaccinated population of 26 million had limited access to medicine, medical equipment, and healthcare facilities.
According to some experts, the North may just be discharging people from confinement once their fevers have subsided.
WHO Is Deeply Concerned About North Korea's COVID-19 Situation
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), said Tuesday that North Korea has not replied to his request for more information regarding the outbreak.
Ghebreyesus also noted that he is "deeply concerned" about a massive outbreak among the population of the isolated nation that lacks vaccines and medical facilities.
WHO emergencies director Dr. Mike Ryan said that the situation in North Korea is "worrying."
"WHO has repeatedly said that where you have unchecked transmission, there is always a higher risk of new variants emerging," he noted, per Reuters.
Pyongyang has reportedly failed to officially report to the UN health agency the outbreak, despite the country's legal obligations under the WHO's International Health Regulations.
When asked how the WHO would react, Ryan answered that the organization was willing to assist but lacked the authority to intervene in a sovereign country.
North Koreans Advised To Drink Herbal Medicines, Gargle Saltwater
North Korea's response to the COVID-19 outbreak includes mobilizing its military troops to distribute medicines and enforce restrictions, according to its state media.
Pyongyang has also deployed more than 10,000 health workers to step up contract tracing efforts to monitor patients and help track suspected COVID-19 cases, as per a report from DW.
Moreover, the government instructed its citizens to gargle saltwater to fight the dreaded virus that killed millions globally.
Aside from saltwater, Reuters reported that the North Korean government advised the public to take traditional herbal remedies such as willow leaf to relieve fever symptoms. The recommended dosage is three times a day, per Business Insider.
One elderly claimed in an interview that ginger tea helped her recover from COVID-19. She said that she realized that the disease is "not a big deal," which she feared at first, after adhering to her doctor's advice.
On Saturday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that the COVID-19 outbreak in the country is its most significant "turmoil" since its founding in 1948.
Although Pyongyang has rejected South Korea's offer of vaccines, medicine, and medical staff, many believe the North will be more willing to accept aid from its key ally China.
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