The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern on Tuesday about the first outbreak of COVID-19 declared in North Korea, with more than 1.8 million suspected cases since April, and asked his government to provide full information on the scope of the crisis and accept help. to control her.
“We have asked North Korea to share data and information, and we offer them technical support and supplies that include tests, diagnostics, essential medicines and vaccines ready to arrive in the country,” the WHO director general said at a press conference. , the Ethiopian Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, quoted by the Spanish agency EFE.
The head of the WHO assured that he is especially concerned about the fact that there has been no anti-Covid vaccination campaign among the North Korean population, “and many people suffer from previous health problems that put them at risk of developing serious or fatal forms of COVID-19. the illness”.
Tedros extended his concern to other states in the world that have not started vaccination campaigns either, as in the case of Eritrea, the country from which his family originates.
In this context, today it was learned that Russian and North Korean authorities discussed the possibility of cooperating in the fight against the infectious disease. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov met on Tuesday with the North Korean ambassador in Moscow, Sin Hong-chul, according to a brief statement from Russian diplomacy.
North Korea reports more than 170,000 cases of coronavirus and talks about its biggest crisis
During the meeting, both officials addressed issues of bilateral relations, “including the prospects for Russian-North Korean cooperation in the fight against the spread of a new coronavirus infection,” Foreign Affairs said.
The Russian Embassy in North Korea previously reported that the country was ready to assist Pyongyang in the fight against the pandemic as soon as possible, but that the North Korean government had not yet responded to its proposal, according to the Interfax agency quoted by EFE.
Last Thursday, North Korea – which has been completely closed to the outside since 2020 – announced the detection of its first case of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Thereafter he declared a national “maximum emergency” and urged the confinement of “every city and county.”
This Monday the Asian nation added six new deaths apparently linked to the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, for which it already accumulates 56 deaths and almost 270,000 new potential infections, which brings more than 663,000 people in treatment, according to the state news agency KCNA.
According to the state epidemic emergency headquarters, 269,510 more people showed fever symptoms the day before, so more than 1.48 million – more than 5% of the national population – have already experienced these symptoms since the virus began to spread. spread, apparently, at the end of April.
EFE / OnCuba
