North Korea reports 186,000 new suspected COVID

A deserted street in Pyongyang is seen Tuesday, in this photo provided by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency, Wednesday. AP-Yonhap

North Korea reported around 186,000 new cases of "fever" and another death Sunday, after it announced a COVID-19 outbreak on its soil earlier this month.

More than 186,090 people showed symptoms of fever, with one additional death 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 epidemic prevention headquarters.

This raised the death toll to 67, with a fatality rate standing at 0.003 percent, the KCNA added.

The caseload reported since late April, in the nation with a population of 24 million, came to more than 2.64 million as of 6 p.m. Saturday, of which more than 2.06 million have recovered and at least 579,390 are being treated, according to the KCNA.

On May 12, the reclusive North made public its first confirmed case of the Omicron variant. Many North Korea observers have raised concerns about the impoverished country's heathcare system, including its coronavirus testing capabilities. They also say Pyongyang might be underreporting the number of patients showing symptoms and related deaths. (Yonhap)