In this file photo taken March 18, employees spray disinfectant and wipe surfaces as part of preventative measures against COVID-19 at the Pyongyang Children's Department Store in Pyongyang. North Korea on Sunday confirmed 15 additional deaths from an "explosive" fever outbreak and more than 290,000 additional patients with flu-like symptoms. AFP-Yonhap

15 more deaths confirmed; total caseload surpasses 820,000 in just 3 days

By Jung Min-ho

Hakim Djaballah

With the COVID-19 situation getting out of control in North Korea, it appears to be too late now to use vaccines to halt or slow down its spread, according to a virologist who specializes in infectious diseases.

North Korea on Sunday confirmed 15 additional deaths from an "explosive" fever outbreak and more than 290,000 additional patients with flu-like symptoms. After reporting its "first" coronavirus case on Thursday, North Korea confirmed 42 such deaths as of 6 p.m. Saturday, with 820,620 cases and at least 324,550 receiving medical treatment.

But the true number is likely to be far higher and, without outside help, North Korea is now on the verge of a health tragedy, Hakim Djaballah, former CEO of Institut Pasteur Korea, told The Korea Times.

"The numbers must be underestimated as they are scoring cases based on fever status only and without any testing to confirm infection by the virus. It seems that the focus of their administration was not on the public health crisis," he said. "I think they are on the verge of a health tragedy if their leadership does not change its stance and openly request all the help it can get from the international community."

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the situation a "great upheaval" and said his country should learn from China's zero-COVID strategy which calls for draconian lockdowns.

But unlike China, North Korea lacks medical resources and food supplies; more importantly, most, if not all, of its population is believed to be unvaccinated.

"Without having at least 50 percent of its population fully vaccinated, it makes the situation dire and can easily explode with cases, potential hospitalizations to overwhelm the already broken healthcare system and of course the loss of lives," Djaballah said.

"Given what we have learned about their healthcare infrastructure and capabilities, I think it will be the onset of many other diseases to make it impossible to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus. North Korea is endemic for many disease such as tuberculosis. The population there has been undernourished for many years and this can add to the struggle."

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wearing a mask attends an emergency meeting at the headquarters of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang, Saturday. Screenshot from Korean Central Television

Knowing North Korea's vaccine situation, President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday brought up the idea of sending COVID-19 vaccines to the North, which has previously rejected millions of doses of vaccines offered by the World Health Organization's (WHO) COVAX distribution program.

"I do not think, at this stage, vaccines will help to slow down or end the spread," Djaballah said. "The priority must be on contact-tracing and isolation of the infected once confirmed by testing. The use of antivirals is another priority as this treatment will kill the virus and reduce transmission, something that current vaccines have failed to achieve.

"South Korea can begin by offering trained personnel with test kits and all the logistics for contact-tracing purposes … I am just hoping that Yoon will make the first move to offer help without any conditions; a humanitarian and neighborly gesture will go a long way."

Such help is necessary not only for North Korea but also for the rest of the world, as the situation there could give rise to new and deadly variants such as Delta, he added.

The South Korean government said Friday that it is now planning to propose a working-level meeting with North Korea "as soon as possible" to help the North fight the pandemic.

If accepted, the meeting would mark the first official talks between the two sides since Yoon took office last week.

The issue is also expected to be on the agenda during a summit between Yoon and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden in Seoul later this week. On Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the United States would support international aid efforts for North Korea's COVID-19 fight.

Djaballah also urged the WHO to play a bigger role in helping North Korea.

"The WHO has a better working relationship with North Korea than any other nongovernmental agency, and it ought to use this special relation to be on the ground as soon as possible to assess. Their priority is to assess and report … This will allow it to determine what is needed and then look at the member countries who can step in and help North Korea," he said.