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North Korea claims that new cases of fever were caused by the flu, not covid

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North Korea claims that new cases of fever were caused by the flu, not covid
North Korea claims that new cases of fever were caused by the flu, not covid

North Korea announced on Friday that the fever cases discovered earlier this week were influenza, not a Covid-19 resurgence, as had been suspected.

The announcement was made by state media a day after authorities announced that they had closed down parts of Ryanggang province, which borders China, after discovering four new “fever” cases there.

In case reports, North Korea refers to “fever patients” rather than “Covid patients,” presumably due to a lack of testing capacity.

The new cases, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), are “suspected of being infected with the malignant epidemic,” just two weeks after the country declared victory over Covid-19.

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However, it was announced on Friday that they were not Covid infections and that the lockdown in the area had been lifted.

“All of the fever cases… in Ryanggang Province were influenza cases,” KCNA reported, citing state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters data.

“The fever patients returned to normal temperature.”

The isolated country, which has been under a strict blockade since the outbreak began, confirmed an Omicron outbreak in the capital Pyongyang in May.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who became ill during the outbreak, declared victory over the virus earlier this month and ordered the country’s “maximum emergency epidemic prevention system” to be lifted as officially reported cases fell to zero.

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According to state media, North Korea has recorded nearly 4.8 million “fever” cases and only 74 deaths for an official fatality rate of 0.002 percent.

Experts and the WHO have long questioned Pyongyang’s Covid statistics and claims that the outbreak has been contained.

According to experts, North Korea has one of the worst healthcare systems in the world, with poorly equipped hospitals, few intensive care units, and no Covid treatment drugs.

It has blamed South Korea for the outbreak and threatened “retaliation.”