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TOKYO (Reuters) – North Korea says it has uncovered a BA.2 omicron sub-variant in its capital, Pyongyang, for the first time since the country recognized a positive coronavirus infection since the pandemic began more than two years ago.
The positive case is a worrying development for a country that remains one of two nations in the world that have not been vaccinated. North Korea remains under strict blockade of covid, closing its borders to most land-based trade activities.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a leadership meeting and called for tighter border controls against covid, announcing a method of “maximum emergency” control of the virus, according to state media. The person tested positive on May 8 and the results are identical to BA.2, state media reported on Thursday.
Without vaccines at all, experts say North Korea risks becoming the epicenter of new options as a result of the population’s low immunity to the virus.
NK Sews, a Seoul-based website focused on North Korean surveillance, said this week that people in Pyongyang had been ordered to block on Tuesday following warnings of a “national problem.” People said at the end that there was panic shopping and a shortage of supplies as residents feared a prolonged blockade in the capital.
State media on Thursday called the epidemic a “serious national emergency”.
North Korea, now one of the world’s most closed societies, remains under severe pandemic blockade as it adopts a strategy similar to China’s “zero covid” approach, with severe consequences for the health and food security of its population.
In recent weeks, North Korean state media have repeatedly warned of greater precautionary measures against covid over outbreaks on the Chinese border, urging the public to “step up anti-epidemic work in preparation for a long-term emergency.”
It seems that the virus has entered the country after all. So far, North Korea has said there are no positive cases, although many experts doubt the veracity of the claim.
This is an evolving story and will be updated. Min Joo Kim contributed to this report.
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