North Korea Reports 15 Suspected COVID-19 Deaths as Outbreak Spreads

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) attends a meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, in a photo taken during Dec. 27–Dec. 31, 2021. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File

North Korea reported 15 new suspected COVID-19 deaths and 296,180 more people with “fever” symptoms nationwide, state media said on May 14, raising the nation’s death toll to 42 since it entered a state of emergency late last week, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News.

On May 12, North Korea declared a “severe emergency” after acknowledging its first official cases of COVID-19, with leader Kim Jong Un ordering a nationwide lockdown.