N. Korea reports 21 new deaths as it battles virus outbreak

On high alert: People watching a TV screen showing a news report about the Covid-19 outbreak in North Korea, at a train station in Seoul. — AP

SEOUL: North Korea announced 21 new “fever” deaths and said more than half a million people had been sickened nationwide, two days after confirming its first-ever cases of Covid-19.

Despite activating its “maximum emergency quarantine system” to slow the spread of disease through its unvaccinated population, North Korea is reporting tens of thousands of new cases daily.