SEOUL | Eight new deaths due to "fever" have been recorded in North Korea, four days after the official announcement of the very first case of COVID-19 in the country, the official North Korean agency KCNA said on Sunday.

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Regime leader Kim Jong Un also called for the immediate mobilization of the army to solve problems of "drug reserves" in the capital Pyongyang, she added.

The epidemic, which according to Kim Jong Un is causing “great upheaval”, is hitting a country whose health system is one of the worst in the world.

North Korea has no vaccine against Covid, no antiviral drugs and cannot carry out a mass screening campaign.

According to KCNA, Kim Jong Un complained during an emergency politburo meeting on Sunday that “orders have not yet been properly executed and drugs have not been properly supplied to pharmacies.” .

And pharmacies did not comply with the order to remain open 24 hours a day, he added.

“Officials from government and the public health service responsible for supply have not rolled up their sleeves, failing to take the full measure of the current crisis, merely talking about the spirit of dedication to serving the people. “, asserted the leader.

According to the official agency, the total toll stands at 1,213,550 cases of fever, 50 dead, and at least 564,860 people under treatment.