(2nd LD) N. Korea reports no new suspected COVID-19 cases for 6th day: state media

(ATTN: UPDATES with S. Korean official's remarks, details in last paras)
By Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases stayed at zero for the sixth consecutive day, with apparently no remaining fever patients under treatment, according to its state media Thursday.

No new fever cases were reported over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency anti-epidemic headquarters.

It did not provide information on additional deaths or those under treatment. As of July 5, the death toll stood at 74, with the fatality rate at 0.002 percent.

The total number of fever cases from late April to 6 p.m. Wednesday stood at 4.77 million and 99.998 percent of them had recovered, it added, reporting five new recoveries.

The previous day, the KCNA had said that five patients were being treated, suggesting that all fever patients have recovered.

Despite the apparent absence of new fever cases, the KCNA said the country is still maintaining its antivirus measures.

"Activities for consolidating the current anti-epidemic situation and preventing the outbreak of new epidemics are intensified across the country," it said in a separate English-language report. "Unified command and control over the overall anti-epidemic work is maintained."

Health authorities have introduced a "quadruple test information system for COVID-19" and are implementing preventative measures against the spread of other infectious diseases entering the country, considering the global spread of monkeypox, it added.

In Seoul, a South Korean government official was cautious about whether or when the unpredictable North will declare an end to the coronavirus crisis.

Speaking to reporters on background, the unification ministry official cited the need to keep an eye on Pyongyang's moves, rather than making hasty predictions. North Korea observers say the Kim Jong-un regime is likely to make a related decision, taking local political situations and the spread of other contagious viruses at home into consideration.

The North disclosed its first COVID-19 case on May 12 after claiming to be coronavirus-free for over two years and immediately declared a "maximum emergency" virus control system.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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