North Korea reports corona deaths for the first time

North Korea has reported for the first time since the corona pandemic that residents of the isolated country have died from the effects of Covid-19. It concerns at least six corona deaths, so reports state broadcaster KCNA Friday. The news comes a day after leader Kim Jong-un announced a national lockdown in the country.

At least one of the six reported deaths had symptoms of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. At least 18,000 people were admitted with “flu symptoms” on Thursday alone, KCNA reports. According to the state news agency, 350,000 people have been treated in isolation since the end of April, of whom just over 162,000 have been cured so far.

North Korea decided to close its borders immediately at the start of the pandemic in 2020. The country has always claimed that it has kept the virus at bay in this way, although this is doubted by many. Since the end of April, an “unknown” virus, according to the state broadcaster, has spread across the country of 24 million inhabitants. Kim Jong-un now blames virus prevention program officials for flaws and announced “an emergency of the most serious kind” on Thursday.