North Korea reports no new deaths for 3rd day amid COVID-19 outbreak

On Thursday, North Korea announced no new COVID-19 deaths for the third day in a row but added over 105,000 new suspected cases to their coronavirus outbreak.

According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), which cited data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters, 105,500 people displayed symptoms of "fever," although no deaths were reported over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m., Wednesday.

As of 6 p.m., the overall number of cases since late April had risen to more than 3.17 million in the country of 24 million people. More than 2.9 million people have recovered, and at least 271,810 people are being treated, according to the report, which was released on Wednesday. The death toll has remained unchanged at 68.

After hitting over 392,920 on May 15, the daily total has been on a decreasing trend in recent days, with new cases falling below 200,000 for the sixth day in a row.

The North continued to urge people to be careful in their fight against the virus, with the country's official newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, publishing an article underlining the necessity of disinfection.

"Improving disinfection work is a critical issue that will determine the protection of precious lives, livelihoods, and futures from the malignant virus," the report stated.

North Korea proclaimed a statewide lockdown on May 12 after reporting the first-ever COVID case despite claiming to be coronavirus-free for almost two years. It also declared a transition to a "high emergency" virus control regime.