N Korea reports 270k fever cases amid Covid crisis

Health officials in North Korea found 269,510 more people with feverish symptoms and reported another six deaths, state media said Tuesday, as the country grapples with an escalating but largely undiagnosed COVID-19 outbreak across its unvaccinated population.

According to the North’s anti-virus headquarters, 56 people have died and more than 1.48 million fell ill amid a rapid spread of fever nationwide since late April and outside experts believe most of the illnesses to be COVID-19. The North said at least 663,910 people were still in quarantine.

State media isn’t specifying how many of the fever cases have been confirmed as Covid. North Korea likely lacks testing supplies to confirm coronavirus infections in large numbers and its virus response is mostly isolating people with symptoms at shelters. Failing to slow the virus could have dire consequences for North Korea, considering its broken health care system and that its 26 million people are believed to be unvaccinated.

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