North Korea reports an outbreak of a "virulent epidemic" near the Chinese border

North Korea's state media said today, Thursday, that an outbreak of a fever of unknown origin has appeared in an area bordering China, but it is not the Corona virus that the country declared victory over this month.

Quoting the Epidemiological Prevention Department, the official Korean Central News Agency reported that four cases of "suspected virulent epidemic" were reported in Ryangang province near the border with China on Tuesday, prompting the authorities to immediately close the area and deploy medical teams.

The agency said that a detailed analysis of the epidemiological situation nationwide showed that there have been no cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak ended in the country early this month.

However, she added, the authorities have sent experts in epidemiology, virology and examinations to the region to investigate the cause of the fever cases, while imposing measures to prevent its spread.

The agency said that the authorities are "taking steps to track all people connected to the suspected cases, and those heading to and from the concerned area and keep them under strict medical observation."

After North Korea declared victory over COVID-19, it blamed South Korea for causing the outbreak and vowed to respond.

South Korea denied the claim, calling it baseless.

North Korea has never confirmed how many people have contracted COVID-19, apparently due to its lack of the means to conduct large-scale testing.

Instead, it reported the daily numbers of patients with fever, a number that rose to about 4.77 million.

But it said it had not recorded any new cases since July 29.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news