![Covid-19 a 'great turmoil' to fall on us: Kim Jong Un after North Korea reports its first outbreak](https://english.cdn.zeenews.com/sites/default/files/2022/05/14/1042383-kim-jong-un.jpg)
Covid-19 a 'great turmoil' to fall on us: Kim Jong Un after North Korea reports its first outbreak
Zee News
North Korea made an unprecedented admission of its first Covid-19 outbreak this week, after claiming no infections for more than two years since the start of the pandemic.
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Saturday that the spread of COVID-19 had put the country in "great turmoil" and called for an all-out battle to overcome the epidemic, while 21 new deaths were reported for a day earlier among people with fevers.
North Korea made an unprecedented admission of its first COVID outbreak this week, after claiming no infections for more than two years since the start of the pandemic, but there was no sign a rigorous testing or treatment campaign was underway.
Given North Korea`s limited testing capabilities, the numbers released probably represent a small fraction of total infections, which could lead to thousands of deaths in one of only two countries without a COVID vaccination campaign, according to experts.
The country`s ruling Workers` Party met for an emergency meeting and heard reports of about 280,810 people being treated and 27 overall deaths since a fever of unidentified origins was reported starting in late April, KCNA news agency said.
"The spread of the malignant epidemic is a great turmoil to fall on our country since the founding," state news agency KCNA quoted Kim as telling the meeting.