North Korea Reports First Covid Death Amid ‘Explosive’ Disease Outbreak

Topline

North Korea confirmed its first Covid-19 death on Friday and said hundreds of thousands of people are sick with a rapidly spreading “fever,” according to state media, a day after the reclusive regime acknowledged its first coronavirus cases and stoked fears of a devastating outbreak.

Kim Jong Un said the outbreak was a “crisis”

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

North Korea said six people have died and 350,000 people have been treated for an “obscure” fever that has spread “explosively” since late April, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

One of the six people who died had tested positive for the omicron BA.2 coronavirus variant, state media confirmed, though it is not clear how many of the total illnesses were due to Covid-19.

Of the 350,000 people who developed fevers since late April, around 162,000 have recovered and nearly 188,000 are being “isolated and treated,” according to KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the fever outbreak was centered around the nation’s capital, Pyongyang, and criticized officials for not having prevented “a vulnerable point in the epidemic prevention system,” KCNA reported.

Key Background

Kim, who was pictured wearing a face mask for the first time in public on Thursday, reportedly described the escalating situation in North Korea as an “immediate public health crisis” and has ordered a national lockdown. While detailed information is scarce, most signs suggest an outbreak could be devastating for the country. Its population of 25 million is malnourished and unvaccinated—alongside Eritrea, North Korea is one of only two countries that hasn’t launched a vaccination program—the economy is struggling and its healthcare infrastructure is severely limited. Pyongyang has previously rejected offers of vaccines and humanitarian assistance during the pandemic and has proudly touted its success in keeping the virus out, a claim experts have questioned.

What We Don’t Know

The extent of the outbreak. North Korea almost certainly lacks the testing capacity to effectively monitor an outbreak of Covid-19. Its description of patients with fever, one of the most common symptoms of a Covid infection, is a rough proxy for coronavirus. It is an imperfect measure and will inevitably exclude those with asymptomatic infections.

What To Watch For

Rapid spread. Omicron BA.2 is incredibly contagious. Evidence suggests it could be one of the most contagious diseases we know of, roughly on par with measles, which the CDC says infects up to 90% of people close to an infected person if they aren’t immune. If North Korea’s claims of keeping the virus out are true and the country hasn’t launched a vaccination program, almost the entire population have no exposure to Covid whatsoever and are vulnerable to infection.

Big Number

18,000. That’s how many new cases of fever were reported in North Korea on Thursday.