Status: 05/17/2022 2:44 p.m
North Korea is struggling with the sudden spread of the epidemic. As reported by state media, soldiers have now been dispatched to all pharmacies in Pyongyang. They are now supposed to distribute medicines to the population.
North Korea is trying to get the corona outbreak under control in its own country and, according to its own statements, is stepping up its measures against the spread of “fever cases”. For this purpose, the military has now sent soldiers to all pharmacies in the capital Pyongyang, state media reports.
Military takes over in lockdown
The deployment of the troops was therefore limited to the three million city. By order of ruler Kim Jong Un, however, all regions in the country are said to have been cordoned off and in lockdown.
According to the state news agency, Kim “sharp criticism” of the “irresponsible attitude to work” of the responsible officials in the cabinet and the health authorities. He complained in particular that pharmacies are not open around the clock. Now the soldiers are in the process of “distributing medicines in a 24-hour system” in the pharmacies.
Official figures are doubted
North Korea officially confirmed infections with the corona virus for the first time last Thursday. Since then it has been talking about the nationwide spread of an epidemic. Officially, there have been 1.5 million corona infections and 56 deaths in the completely unvaccinated population since then. On Monday alone, 270,000 “fever cases” are said to have been registered.
But the data is unclear. It is not certain how many of the reported deaths and fever patients are actually due to an illness caused by the corona virus. Experts still trust the regime’s claims that there were no Covid cases in the strictly isolated country before the recently reported epidemic situation.
Health system completely overwhelmed
The World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned about the outbreak of Covid-19. The health system in the country is considered rudimentary and completely overwhelmed. “Because the country has not yet initiated Covid-19 vaccination, there is a risk that the virus will spread rapidly among the masses,” said WHO regional head for Southeast Asia Khetrapal Singh.
Vaccines offered through the UN procurement program Covax have so far been rejected by the leadership in Pyongyang. Acceptance of the vaccine would involve international controls. Experts assume that North Korea also lacks the capacity to carry out mass tests and that there are not enough anti-virus drugs and intensive care units. In addition, the nutritional status of the 26 million inhabitants is considered poor.