North Korea on Saturday reported no new fever cases for the first time since it abruptly admitted to its first domestic COVID-19 outbreak and placed its 26 million people under more draconian restrictions in May.
There have been widespread outside doubts about the accuracy of North Korean statistics as its reported fatalities are too low and its daily fever cases have been plummeting too fast recently. Some experts say North Korea has likely manipulated the scale of illness and deaths to help leader Kim Jong Un maintain absolute control amid mounting economic difficulties.
The North’s state emergency anti-epidemic center said via state media it had found zero fever patients in the latest 24-hour period. It said its total caseload was about 4.8 million and that about 99.99% of them have fully recovered. The country’s death count remains at 74, a mortality rate of 0.0016% that would be the world’s lowest if true.
Despite the claimed zero cases, it is unclear whether and how soon North Korea would formally declare victory over COVID-19 and lift pandemic-related curbs because experts say it could face a viral resurgence later this year like many other countries. Recently, North Korea’s state media has repeatedly said it’s intensifying and upgrading its anti-epidemic systems to guard against coronavirus subvariants and other diseases like monkeypox that are occurring in other countries.
“The organizational power and unity unique to the society of (North Korea) is fully displayed in the struggle to bring forward a victory in the emergency anti-epidemic campaign by fully executing the anti-epidemic policies of the party and the state,” the official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday.
North Korea’s claimed zero cases could still have symbolic significance in its efforts to establish Kim’s image as a leader who has controlled the outbreak much faster than other countries. Kim would need such credentials to garner greater public support to surmount economic hardships caused by pandemic-related border closings, U.N. sanctions and his own mismanagement, observers say.
“In North Korea, public healthcare and politics can’t be separated from each other, and that aspect has been revealed again in its COVID-19 outbreak,” said Ahn Kyung-su, head of DPRKHEALTH.ORG, a website focusing on health issues in North Korea. “Since they began with manipulated data, they’re now putting an end to the outbreak with manipulated data.”
The zero cases have been widely expected as North Korea’s daily fever caseload has been nosediving in recent days — there were three reported cases on Friday and 11 on Thursday — from a peak of about 400,000 a day in May. The country, which lacks test kits, has identified only a fraction of its 4.8 million fever patients as confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Many outside experts earlier worried the North’s outbreak would have devastating consequences because most of its people are believed to be unvaccinated and about 40% are reportedly undernourished. But now, activists and defectors with contacts in North Korea say they haven’t heard about anything like a humanitarian disaster happening in North Korea.
In an indication of an easing outbreak, North Korea last week held massive no-mask public events in its capital, Pyongyang, where thousands of aged Korean War veterans and others gathered from across the country to celebrate the 69th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 war. During an anniversary ceremony, Kim hugged and exchanged handshakes with some veterans before he took group photos with other participants. No one wore masks, according to state media photos.
Shin Young-jeon, a professor of preventive medicine at Seoul’s Hanyang University, said North Korea would know that zero cases doesn’t mean it has no COVID-19 patients because there are likely asymptomatic cases. He said North Korea won’t likely announce it has officially overcome the pandemic anytime soon because of worries about a resurgence.
“North Korea’s state media has already used expressions like it’s winning its anti-virus fight. The only other expression they can use now is declaring the coronavirus has been completely eliminated from its territory,” Shin said. “But if new cases emerge again, North Korea would lose its face.”
The only route for North Korea’s fresh viral spread from abroad is likely China, its main ally which shares a long, porous border with the country, and North Korea would likely find it difficult to announce victory over the pandemic until China does so, said Lee Yo Han, a professor at Ajou University Graduate School of Public Health in South Korea.
The North Korea-China border has been largely shut for more than 2 ½ years, except for a few months when it reopened earlier this year.
Some observers say the North’s elevated pandemic response has provided Kim with a tool to boost his authoritarian rule amid public complaints over long-running restrictions. They say North Korea could report a small number of fever cases again in the coming days.
Foreign experts struggle to assess the true number of fatalities in North Korea with authority. They note the North’s shortage of test kits would also make it virtually impossible for the country to determine whether aged people or others with underlying diseases died of COVID-19 or something else.
Shin, the university professor, stood by his earlier study that predicted North Korea would likely suffer 100,000-150,000 deaths. He said he used South Korean data showing its mortality rate of unvaccinated people for the omicron variant, whose outbreak North Korea admitted in May, was 0.6%.
Other experts say the North’s fatalities would be several thousand at the maximum. They said bigger death tolls must have been detected by North Korea monitoring groups.
Total Doses Distributed = 789,714,195. Total Doses Administered = 603,693,871. Number of People Receiving 1 or More Doses = 261,654,261. Number of People Fully Vaccinated = 223,245,563.
Los Angeles County dropped a plan to impose a universal indoor mask mandate this week as COVID-19 infections and rates of hospitalizations have stabilized, a top health official said Thursday.
Health director Barbara Ferrer announced two weeks ago that the nation’s most populous county could again require face coverings if trends in hospital admissions continued under criteria set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Thursday, she said the county managed to dodge imposition of the broad mask rule. The county remains at the “high” CDC level of community transmission, but it could drop to “medium” in coming weeks.
Ferrer said the county has experienced a “fairly steady decline in cases since July 23, potentially signaling the beginning of a downward trend in cases.” Hospitalizations are also down.
For most of the pandemic, LA County has required masks in some indoor spaces, including health care facilities, Metro trains and buses, airports, jails and homeless shelters.
The new mandate would have expanded the requirement to all indoor public spaces, including shared offices, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, retail stores, restaurants and bars, theaters and schools.
Nationwide, the latest COVID-19 surge is driven by the highly transmissible BA.5 variant, which now accounts for a majority of cases. It has shown a remarkable ability to get around the protection offered by vaccination.
It’s still unclear what enforcement of the health order might have looked like. Under past mandates, no individuals were cited for refusing masks, and officials favored educating people over issuing citations and fines.
Critics of a new mask rule have said they don’t believe it would decrease or stop transmission rates.
“We don’t really have empirical data that show mandating is more effective than strongly suggesting,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger told Ferrer during a Tuesday briefing.
The LA County cities of Long Beach and Pasadena have their own health departments that typically align with LA County’s rules. But not this time. Both cities said this week that they would not enforce any county requirements for face coverings.
And the City Council of Beverly Hills voted unanimously Monday to not adopt a mask mandate imposed by the county.
President Joe Biden’s administration is launching a renewed push for COVID-19 booster shots for those eligible, pointing to the enhanced protections they offer against severe illness as the highly transmissible BA.5 variant spreads across the country.
The initiatives include direct outreach to high-risk groups, especially seniors, encouraging them to get “up to date” on their vaccinations, with phone calls, emails and new public service announcements.
All Americans age 5 and over should get a booster five months after their initial primary series, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It also says those age 50 and over — or those who are immunocompromised — should get a second booster four months after their first. According to CDC, tens of millions of eligible Americans haven’t received their first booster, and of those over 50 who got their first booster, only about 30% have received their second.
CDC has released a “booster calculator” to help people determine when to get a booster shot.
Biden, who received his second booster shot in March, tested positive for the virus last week and recovered after experiencing mild symptoms for five days.
“Given the rise of the Omicron BA.5 variant, it is essential that Americans stay up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations — with booster shots — to achieve the highest level of protection possible,” the White House said. COVID-19 is killing about 366 people in the U.S. each day, the vast majority of whom are not up-to-date on their vaccinations. The administration says those deaths are largely preventable.
In May, according to the CDC, prior to the dominance of the BA.5 variant in the U.S., people over 50 with only a single booster shot were four times more likely to die of COVID-19 than those with two or more booster doses.
“Currently, many Americans are under-vaccinated, meaning they are not up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said earlier this month. “Staying up to date on your COVID-19 vaccines provides the best protection against severe outcomes.”
As part of the new booster push, the White House says pharmacies in the federal pharmacy program will step up outreach to those eligible for another booster dose. It says Walgreens will make more than 600,000 phone calls, and Rite Aid will send nearly 9 million emails to people encouraging them to get shots.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will also reach out to 600 nursing homes that have reported booster uptake rates under 80% to offer additional federal support, including on-site clinics and sending medical providers and infectious disease experts to educate people about the benefits of the shots. CMS will also email booster reminders to the 16 million people who receive their Medicare emails and added a booster reminder message to its 1-800-MEDICARE call-in line.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will also continue to run PSAs encouraging boosters during commercial breaks on shows with significant viewership among seniors, like “NCIS Hawaii,” “Good Morning America,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “48 Hours.”
Hard-won progress against HIV has stalled, putting millions of lives at risk, according to an alarming report Wednesday on how the COVID-19 pandemic and other global crises are jeopardizing efforts to end AIDS.
Worldwide, the years-long decline in new HIV infections is leveling off. Worse, cases began climbing in parts of Asia and the Pacific where they previously had been falling, according to the United Nations agency leading the global AIDS fight.
The number of people on lifesaving HIV treatments grew more slowly last year than it has in a decade. Inequities are widening. Every two minutes last year, a teen girl or young woman was newly infected — and in sub-Saharan Africa, they’re three times as likely to get HIV as boys and men the same age. And 650,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses last year, the report found.
“This is an alarm to the world to say that COVID-19 has blown the AIDS response significantly off track,” said Matthew Kavanagh, deputy executive director of UNAIDS.
The U.N. set a goal of fewer than 370,000 new HIV infections by 2025. Last year, there were about 1.5 million — meaning it would take a major turnaround to get anywhere near that target. Yet low- and middle-income countries are $8 billion short of the funding needed, as international aid also has dropped, the report found.
Things might be even worse considering that HIV testing slowed or even stopped in many places when COVID-19 hit, potentially leaving even more virus spread uncounted.
“People are exhausted with epidemics and pandemics,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s leading AIDS expert. “We have to fight twice as hard to get HIV back on the radar screen where it belongs.”
The sobering news comes as the International AIDS Conference begins this week in Montreal — where some promising science is being reported. Among the highlights:
— A man who had lived with HIV for about 30 years is in long-term remission and just might be one of only a handful of people worldwide ever considered cured, thanks to a special bone marrow-like transplant.
That rigorous treatment is only an option for HIV patients who also develop leukemia and need transplanted blood stem cells to fight the cancer. This man’s donor happened to carry a rare gene mutation that makes the newly transplanted cells resistant to HIV.
The man, now 66, underwent the transplant in 2019. Soon after, the COVID-19 pandemic began and he decided to stay on HIV medication until he could get vaccinated. He’s now been off anti-AIDS medication for 17 months with no signs of HIV, Dr. Jana Dickter of City of Hope, a California cancer research center, said Wednesday.
That makes him the oldest and longest-living person with HIV to undergo this potentially curative transplant. Scientists hope these rare cases might offer clues that eventually lead to better care for more people.
Also Wednesday, University of Barcelona researchers reported that a woman’s own immune system seems to have kept her HIV tamped down to an undetectable level for 15 years. The woman was part of a research study in 2006 that included some immune-boosting treatments but it’s not clear why she’s faring so well.
— Another study presented Wednesday found that taking an antibiotic after unprotected sex could reduce the chances of getting gonorrhea, chlamydia or syphilis.
Those sexually transmitted diseases are caused by different types of bacteria. They are a rising threat, especially among people who also have — or are at high risk for — HIV.
In Seattle and San Francisco, researchers gave study participants — gay men, bisexual men and transgender women — the antibiotic doxycycline with instructions to take a single dose within 72 hours whenever they had sex without using a condom. Those who did saw their risk of infection drop more than 60%, said Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer of the University of California, San Francisco.
Before experts recommend that strategy, they’ll need to know if it could worsen antibiotic resistance, making either the STDs themselves or other bacteria people encounter harder to treat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it will examine that carefully, but it posted online some cautions for anyone considering this use of doxycycline in the meantime.
— The UNAIDS report showed the public health fight against HIV is getting harder, but there are a few bright spots. Researchers reported Wednesday that Botswana, which is hard-hit by HIV, already has achieved a key 2025 goal: 95% of HIV-infected people know their status, more than 95% of those who know are getting treated, and more than 95% getting treated show signs their virus is being suppressed.
Kavanagh praised Botswana for strong policy changes that “helped more and more people into care,” including free HIV medications, pushing home HIV testing and decriminalizing same-sex relationships.
UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima said it’s not too late to get back on track despite the continued COVID-19 and economic crises.
“Ending AIDS would cost much less money than not ending AIDS,” she said. “The actions needed to end AIDS are also key for overcoming other pandemics.”
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
President Joe Biden looked forward to ending his COVID-19 isolation Wednesday after testing negative for the virus on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday morning.
He quickly arranged to deliver remarks in the Rose Garden around midday.
“Back to the Oval,” Biden tweeted after the White House released the latest daily update from his doctor confirming that he was clear to end the isolation period that is required after someone tests positive for the coronavirus. Biden, 79, tested positive last week.
Biden’s tweet included a photo of a rapid COVID-19 test with the line showing a negative result.
“Thanks to Doc for the good care, and to all of you for your support,” the president’s tweet said.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician, wrote in Wednesday’s update that the president had completed a five-day course of Paxlovid, an anti-viral drug used to treat COVID-19. Biden remains free of fever and had not used Tylenol in the past 36 hours.
Biden’s symptoms were almost “completely resolved,” O’Connor reported.
“Given these reassuring factors, the president will discontinue his strict isolation measures,” the doctor wrote.
Biden will wear a “well-fitting” face mask for 10 days anytime he is around others, O’Connor said.
Biden tested positive for the coronavirus on July 21. He continued to work during isolation, holding meetings virtually and addressing groups through tape-recorded messages.
