NORTH Korea reported more than 260,000 new suspected Covid-19 cases today, with the total number of such cases surpassing two million, just eight days after it first confirmed the virus outbreak, according to Yonhap news agency.

A total of 263,370 people showed symptoms of fever and two deaths were reported over a 24-hour period, pushing the total number of fatalities to 65, said the official Korean Central News Agency, citing data from state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters.

North Korea, which has a population of about 25 million, recorded more than 2.24 million fever cases since late April up to 6pm yesterday. Of the total, 1.48 million have recovered and more than 750,000 are being treated.

The daily number of fever cases has remained under 300,000 for the fourth straight day.

Pyongyang reported its first Covid-19 case last Thursday, after claiming to be coronavirus-free for more than two years and declared the implementation of the “maximum emergency” virus control system. – Bernama, May 20, 2022.