#omicron variant
North Korea reveals six deaths after admitting first Covid outbreak
Six people have died and 350,000 have been treated for a fever that has spread “explosively” across North Korea one day after the country acknowledged its first Covid-19 outbreak.
North Korea likely does not have enough testing supplies and state media reported the cause of the fevers was unclear.
Experts have warned a Covid outbreak could be devastating in a country with a broken health care system and an unvaccinated, malnourished population.
Some experts say the North’s admissions of an outbreak suggested a willingness to receive outside aid.
It previously shunned vaccines offered by the UN-backed Covax programme, possibly because they have monitoring requirements.
A lot more than six people will have died and the population will certainly notice.
We are still learning about the omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, but here is a breakdown of what we currently know:
There are no confirmed cases in NYC of the omicron variant, but we may start seeing such cases in the city soon. Delta remains the dominant strain – about 98% of sequenced specimens.
While a lot is still unknown about omicron, early evidence suggests that those who’ve had COVID-19 in the past may be more easily reinfected with omicron.
We strongly recommend everyone — including people who are vaccinated or were previously infected — wear masks in ALL public indoor settings.
Vaccination, masking and testing remain our most important tools in fighting this new potential variant of concern. Vaccines are available for anyone 5 and older, and we recommend boosters for any adult who is fully vaccinated.
