Disaster in North Korea

North Korea, tragic situation, UK and US slowly stabilising. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/16/kim-jong-un-calls-in-the-army-to-respond-to-north-koreas-covid-19-crisis https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/05/14/covid-outbreak-great-disaster-north-korea-says-kim-jong-un/ UK, alpha wave, patients admitted to hospital UK, alpha wave, deaths Omicron started to spread, late April End of two-year coronavirus blockade, maintained at great economic cost Omicron in Pyongyang Factors Long term malnutrition Current malnutrition Untreated long-term diseases Poor housing Limited supply of medicines, steroids, antibiotics Zero vaccination Little previous infection Naïve population Omicron, not delta (Official Korean Central News Agency) Kim Jong Un Covid outbreak is a great disaster for North Korea causing great upheaval Announced 51 new fever deaths First case confirmed Thursday Had activated maximum emergency quarantine system Nationwide lockdowns Up to May 13 1,213,550 cases of fever More than 524,440 fallen sick with fever at least 81,430 were fully recovered Official Korean Central News Agency Over half a million currently receiving medical treatment The spread of malignant disease comes to be a great upheaval in our country since the founding of the DPRK Army to distribute medicines on immediately stabilising the supply of medicines in Pyongyang because officials of the Cabinet and public health sector in charge of the supply have not rolled up their sleeves, not properly recognizing the present crisis strongly criticised the Cabinet and public health sector for their irresponsible work attitude Leif-Eric Easley, professor, Ewha University in Seoul The language he's used suggests the situation in North Korea is going to get worse before it gets better Engagers see this rhetoric preparing the way for international assistance, but Kim may be rallying a population on the verge of further sacrifice Kim Jong Un, meeting on anti-virus strategies in Pyongyang Kim, front and centre (39) minimising the losses in human lives Country will actively learn from China's pandemic management strategy not an uncontrollable spread among regions but transmission within areas that had been locked down Previously turned down offers of Covid vaccines from China and Covax scheme Beijing and Seoul issued fresh offers of aid and vaccines Health and healthcare in North Korea: a retrospective study among defectors (Conflict and Health) https://conflictandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13031-020-00284-y Public Health Act, comprehensive free care system Widespread informal expenditure Lack of medicines Extensive self-medication with narcotic analgesics Party membership Respondents who could not enjoy political and economic rights were substantially more likely to report illness, and extremely reduced access to care, even with life-threatening conditions. Maxar Technologies New excavation at the Yongbyon facility in North Korea, (plutonium) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices