SEOUL: North Korea said Friday that hundreds of families have fallen ill with an unidentified intestinal disease, heaping pressure on a crumbling health care system already strained by COVID-19. Pyongyang announced its first coronavirus cases last month and activated a “maximum emergency epidemic prevention system,” with leader Kim Jong Un putting himself front and center of the government’s response.
Even so, the virus tore through the unvaccinated population of 25 million, with more than 4.5 million cases of “fever” and 73 deaths to date, according to figures published by state media.
Building on the country’s woes, the official KCNA this week announced a new “acute enteric epidemic” in South Hwanghae province, with Kim urging officials to “contain the epidemic at the earliest date possible.” – Agencies