Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Following its first acknowledgment of a COVID-19 outbreak weeks ago, North Korea has relaxed movement re...
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| Image: Reuters |
Since declaring a state of emergency and instituting a statewide lockdown earlier this month, the North Korea has been fighting an unprecedented COVID outbreak, raising concerns about a scarcity of vaccines, medical supplies, and food.
The limitations had been eased as of Sunday, according to Japan's Kyodo news agency, which cited an unnamed source in Beijing.
The story could not be confirmed because the North's state media had not publicized the decision, according to a spokesman for South Korea's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean issues.
The Kyodo story was published shortly after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over a politburo meeting to consider altering anti-epidemic regulations, claiming that the situation surrounding the country's first COVID outbreak was "improving."
"Given the current steady anti-epidemic scenario, the Political Bureau studied the question of effectively and rapidly coordinating and executing anti-epidemic laws and guidelines," the North's state media KCNA stated on Sunday.
As of Sunday evening, North Korea had reported 100,710 more persons with fever symptoms and one additional death, compared to 390,000 two weeks ago, according to KCNA. The death toll has risen to 70 people.
Due to a shortage of testing supplies, North Korea has not confirmed the overall number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus. According to experts, the announced data may be underreported, and determining the true scope of the problem is difficult.
