No trace of COVID-19 in country: North Korea tells WHO
(Sourced from PTI)
North Korea has told the World Health Organization that it tested more than 30,000 people for the coronavirus through June 10 but has yet to find a single infection. The WHO said on Tuesday that North Korea's testing figures included 733 people who were tested from June 4 to June 10, of which 149 were with influenza-like illnesses or severe respiratory infections.
Experts widely doubt the claim by North Korea that it has not had a single case of the deadly coronavirus, given its poor health infrastructure and porous border with China, which is its major ally and economic lifeline.
Describing its anti-virus efforts as a matter of national existence, the country has banned tourists, jetted out diplomats, and severely restricted cross-border traffic and trade. The self-imposed lockdown has caused further strain on an economy already battered by decades of mismanagement and crippling US-led sanctions over the country's nuclear weapons program. North Korea was amongst those countries that put an early lockdown last year.
The supreme leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un during a political conference last week called on officials to brace for prolonged COVID-19 restrictions, indicating that the country isn't ready to open its borders anytime soon.
According to Associated Press, last month, the country had warned its citizens to brace for a prolonged struggle against coronavirus and had claimed that muddled immunization programs in other countries aren't the ultimate solution. It has also criticized some countries for storing an excessive stock of the COVID-19 vaccines and had asked the WHO to ensure fair distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Kim had earlier this month ordered the elimination of cats and pigeons as he believed that the animals were bringing coronavirus into North Korea from China, according to the website Daily NK. It is also reported that several measures have been announced by the leader such as locals being forced to kill animals including domestic ones, to curb the coronavirus spread.
