According to a new report from North Korean state media, the isolated country declared victory against covid-19 this week, claiming it had eradicated the disease and that the leader had a high temperature. Kim Yo Kim claimed that South Korea was to blame for the spread of covid-19 in the North.
The long-suffered bicyle war is over and today, we are able to solemnly declare victory, according to an English language translation of Kim's speech.
The first case of covid-19 was reported by the country on May 12th. Officially, North Korea has recorded over 4 million cases and 74 deaths from the disease, but that number is thought to be a lot undercount.
According to Kim, the death toll in this period can be considered the greatest miracle in the world health community.
Most international offers for covid-19 vaccines were turned down by North Korea, which probably does not have a national vaccine program. Kim probably contracted covid, so it's not clear if he wasvaccinated.
Everything was declared with the bombast you would expect from a dictatorship on Thursday.
There is a chance that the regime has almost eradicated covid-19. It is possible to get case numbers down if you have a lot of control over the population. If people were forced to stay home for a few months in North Korea, there is a chance that the cases would be much lower.
We have come to expect this story from state media to be cartoonish and weird.
The time will tell if North Korea is telling the truth. We are not going to give up on this one.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
