North Korea, one of the world’s most secretive and totalitarian nations, closed its borders when the pandemic first spread around the world in January 2020 – further isolating the nation. It also restricts internal movement, affecting access to medicines, healthcare and food. And when new options emerged, he stepped up those efforts, cutting off almost all trade with China, the country’s largest economic partner.
“In the absence of vaccination, the spread of the pandemic could have a devastating impact on the human rights situation in the country,” Trosel said at a briefing in Geneva on Tuesday. “It lacks testing capacity, basic medicines and equipment.”
Two years later, without acknowledging that North Korea has Covid-19 cases, officials confirmed an outbreak last week. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared in public for the first time on May 12 to order a nationwide blockade and declare a “maximum state of emergency.”
Since the jump was first announced, more than 1.7 million people have fallen ill with what Pyongyang calls “fever” and 62 have died, according to state media KCNA. On Tuesday, the country reported more than 230,000 new cases and six more deaths. But reports do not say how many of the infections or deaths were definitively linked to Covid-19 through testing.
Presiding over the ruling Labor Party’s Politburo on Tuesday, Kim called the state’s response to the epidemic “immature”, accusing government officials of failing and “laziness” in dealing with what he said could be one of the biggest crises in the country’s history, according to KCNA. Their inaction has led to a further increase in “complexity and difficulties”, he added, calling for redoubled efforts to stabilize people’s lives.
But while law experts have welcomed North Korea’s recognition of the unfolding crisis, they say Kim’s comments disprove the real impact of the government’s pandemic response on the North Korean people. The country’s leader, like authoritarian rulers elsewhere, has used the pandemic as a cover to further suppress the country’s civil and political rights, with Trosel pointing to a policy that allows the use of deadly force against people trying to enter or leave.
Kim is said to have ordered the execution of two people for Covid-19 crimes, including a customs officer who allegedly failed to comply with anti-virus rules while importing goods from China. In June 2021, Kim also fired several senior officials who failed to carry out his draconian plans to prevent Covid-19.
Kim’s latest restrictions will have even more severe consequences for citizens, especially those who are already struggling to meet basic needs. Trosel said children, the elderly and the homeless were particularly vulnerable, and that “detainees were also at particular risk of infection due to the high concentration of people indoors and limited access to hygiene and health care”.
Human Rights Watch said Tuesday that the country’s policies on Covid-19 have further exacerbated the crisis and put North Koreans at increased risk of death. “North Koreans have almost no access to the Covid-19 vaccine and many of them are chronically malnourished, leaving them with a compromised immune system. “Medicines of all kinds are scarce in the country, and the health infrastructure is extremely fragile and there are no medical supplies such as oxygen and other therapeutic agents for Covid-19,” the human rights group said in a statement.
“North Koreans are facing a uniquely acute catastrophe and the world must not turn around,” it added.
The lack of transparency and North Korea’s reluctance to share information is a major challenge. The country has never officially acknowledged how many died during a devastating famine in the 1990s, which experts say killed up to 2 million people. Those fleeing the country at the time shared horrific death and survival stories and a country in chaos. The current blockade is expected to hamper the agricultural harvest, which has already suffered from the drought.
The UN, HRW and others have called on North Korea to respond to calls from the international community to open channels for humanitarian support, including medicines and vaccines.
On Monday, South Korea offered help, with President Yun Suk Yol saying, “If the North Korean authorities accept, we will not spare any necessary support, such as drugs, including Covid-19 vaccines, medical equipment and health personnel.” Last week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijiang said he was ready to provide “full support” in North Korea’s fight against the virus – as the country tackles its own crisis with Covid.
YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.
Question: Can I get free Covid tests at home?
A: The Biden administration is opening an official government website for the third round of procurement, while reiterating its calls on Congress to act on additional funding for Covid’s response.
U.S. households can now order “an additional eight free home tests on COVIDTests.gov, bringing the total number of free tests available to each household from the start of the program to 16,” the White House said Tuesday.
The tests were submitted for the first time on Monday.
Send your questions here. Are you a healthcare professional fighting Covid-19? Send us a message on WhatsApp about the challenges you face: +1 347-322-0415.
READINGS OF THE WEEK
Shanghai declares a milestone with zero Covid, but residents doubt it will reopen
Shanghai officials said Tuesday that they have achieved “zero Covid at the community level,” meaning infections are no longer detected outside centralized quarantine facilities or neighborhoods under the most severe blockades, according to Nectar Gan and CNN’s Beijing Bureau. This comes after an obvious turning point in their heavy and costly campaign to tame the Omicron hearth – but many residents remain skeptical that the city will reopen. On Monday, Jesse Young announced that China has withdrawn from hosting the Asian Football Confederations Cup in 2023, which may suggest that the country’s policy of zero Covid will remain for some time.
All 16 districts of China’s financial center have already achieved this award, said Zhao Dandan, deputy head of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, at a news conference on Tuesday. But 860,000 people remain below the strictest level of blockade, meaning they cannot leave their homes.
Covid wastewater monitoring is a promising tool, but critical challenges remain
Covid-19 surveillance is at a crossroads in the United States. With home tests now outnumbered in laboratories, the official number of cases is lower than ever, just as the nation – and the world – are facing more and more coronavirus variants.
Wastewater monitoring is ready to fill in the gaps and help avoid the threats that an invisible wave of the virus can bring. This observation can help identify transmission trends a week or two earlier than clinical trials, enabling public health leaders to focus on messages and resources. It can be used as a tool for sequencing the virus and finding new variants earlier.
But the desire to use this tool is stifled by uncertainty about exactly how to do it, along with a lack of resources and support for learning, writes Deidre McPhillips.
The United States is struggling to spend money on Covid for those most affected by the virus
In March 2021, the Biden administration announced that it was investing $ 2.25 billion to address Covid’s health inequalities, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarding grants to each state health department and 58 major city and county health agencies. to help underserved communities most affected by the virus.
Now, a year later – after Covid killed 1 million people in the United States since the pandemic – little of the money has been used, according to Kaiser Health News, for information from about a dozen state and county agencies.
The accumulation of unspent dollars for Covid is one of the main reasons Republicans in Congress point to opposing Democrats’ efforts to embezzle billions of federal dollars to manage the pandemic.
TOP ADVICE
If a stay is scheduled for this summer, the CDC is updating its travel guidelines within the United States.
All local travelers – including those who have received all their vaccinations and boosters – are urged to “consider testing as close as possible to the time of departure (no more than three days) before your trip”, according to his Covid -19 updates on the website this month.
Previous recommendations for testing for travel in the country applied only to those who were not up to date with their Covid-19 vaccinations. Read more here.
Listen to our podcast
Strengthen your immune system. Feel less pain. Reduce depression.
Taking a few moments a day to reflect on what we are grateful for, even simple things, can have a profound effect on our physical and mental health.
This week at Chasing Life, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, explores what happens to our brains and bodies when we give thanks. Also, learn how to practice gratitude in your daily life. Listen here.
Add Comment