During a recent visit to a pharmacy, the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with a face mask highlighted his concern over the slow delivery of the drugs. The North Korean leader's lieutenants quarantined hundreds of thousands of "suspected" patients infected with covid-19 and urged people with mild symptoms to use willow leaf tea or honeysuckle, writes AP.

Despite what North Korea's propaganda describes as a comprehensive effort, the fear is huge among citizens, say deserters in South Korea who have contacts in the neighboring country. Some outside observers worry that the outbreak could worsen, especially for many of the poor and unvaccinated who have been left without adequate hospital care, despite struggling to afford even simple medications.

"North Koreans know how many people have died around the world because of coyote, so they are afraid they will lose loved ones," said Kang Mi-jin, a North Korean deserter.

After confirming what it called its first domestic Covid-19 epidemic a week ago, North Korea is now struggling to cope with a growing health crisis that has raised public concern over a virus it has previously claimed was not present in its territory.

Lack of medicines, medical staff and vaccines

The response to the country's pandemic seems to be largely focused on isolating suspicious patients. That may be all it can do, because the country lacks vaccines, antiviral pills, intensive care units and other medical devices that have ensured that millions of sick people in other countries survive.

North Korean health officials say the rapidly spreading fever has killed 63 people and affected about 2 million others since the end of April, while about 740.000 remain in quarantine. Earlier this week, North Korea said its total number of coyote cases was 168 despite rising fever. Many foreign experts are skeptical of the figures and believe the scale of the epidemic is underreported to prevent public unrest that could hurt Kim's leadership.

State media reported that millions of public workers had been mobilized to identify suspicious patients. Kim Jong Un also ordered the deployment of an army to support the delivery of drugs to pharmacies, shortly before visiting pharmacies in Pyongyang.

The state media distributes advice to the citizens

North Korea also uses state-owned media - newspapers, state television and radio - to offer advice on dealing with the virus to its citizens, most of whom do not have access to the Internet or foreign news.

"It is crucial to find anyone with symptoms of fever so that they can be isolated and treated, in order to substantially block the spread of the disease," said Ryu Jong Chol, a Pyongyang anti-virus official.

State television aired informative commercials featuring animated characters advising people to see a doctor if they had trouble breathing, spitting blood or fainting. They also explain what medications patients can take, including home remedies such as honey tea. The country's main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, advised people with mild symptoms to boil 4 to 5 grams of willow leaves or honeysuckle in warm water and drink it three times a day.

"Their instructions do not make sense at all. "It's like the government asking people to contact doctors only if they have difficulty breathing, which means just before they die," said former North Korean agricultural official Cho Chung Hui, who fled to South Korea in 2011. "My heart aches when I think of my brother and sister in North Korea and their suffering."

Destroyed economy

Since May 12, North Korea has banned travel between regions, but has not tried to impose more serious conclusions by imitating China. North Korea's economy is fragile due to pandemic closures and decades of mismanagement, prompting the country to accelerate agriculture, construction and other industrial activities.

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights this week expressed concern about the consequences of North Korea's quarantine measures, saying isolation and travel restrictions would have dire consequences for people already struggling to meet their basic needs, including getting enough. edible food.

"Children, nursing mothers, the elderly, the homeless and those living in more isolated rural and border areas are particularly vulnerable," the office said in a statement.

No one knows when the coyote actually appeared in North Korea

Deserters in South Korea say they care about their loved ones in North Korea. They also suspect that covid-19 has already spread to North Korea even before it officially acknowledged the outbreak.

"My father and brother are still in North Korea and I take great care of them because they were not inoculated and there is not much medicine there," said Kang Na-ra, who fled to South Korea in late 2014.

Deserter Choi Song-yuk says that when her sister, a farmer in North Korea, last called her in February, she said her daughter and many neighbors were suffering from coronavirus-like symptoms such as fever, cough and sore throat.

"I feel so sad. "I want to hear from my sister again because she will be without food," said Choi, who left North Korea in 2015.

Only the ruling elite uses modern hospitals

In recent years, Kim Jong Un has built some modern hospitals and improved medical systems, but critics say it is mostly for the country's ruling elite and that free socialist medical care is in chaos. Recent deserters say there are now many home-made medicines on the market, but they have quality problems, so people prefer South Korean, Chinese and Russian medicines. But foreign drugs are usually expensive, so the poor, who make up the majority of the population in the North, can not afford them.

"If you are sick in North Korea, we often say you will die," Choi said.

Despite the outbreak, North Korea did not publicly respond to South Korean and US medical offers. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adanom Gebrejesus said on Tuesday that the world body was "deeply concerned about the risk of further spread" in North Korea and the lack of information on the outbreak.