North Korea COVID Cases Fluctuate as Restrictions Relax and Kim Praises Vaccines

    Image copyright: koreaherald

    The Facts

    • Following official media reports of a potential relaxation of restrictions in North Korea's "fever" outbreak - widely believed to be COVID - cases rose to over 100K/day Sun. following a brief lull to 89.5K daily cases reported Saturday.

    • Total official infections reported are greater than 3.55M, with 70 fatalities.


    The Spin

    Narrative A

    This is a potential humanitarian catastrophe for North Korea and the entire world. The hermetic nation shunned vaccines and international engagement to battle the pandemic, and its population is now vulnerable to the ravages of the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant. Concerningly, this makes North Korea a potential ground zero for new variants that could ultimately affect the globe.

    Narrative B

    The world has the tools to handle COVID now. Vaccines and boosters are great, but Omicron is mild and spreading too quickly to be stopped. We should aim for natural herd immunity and vaccinate only the vulnerable. Resistance is futile.


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