May 19
North Korea has reported more than 260,000 suspected new cases of the coronavirus in a single day.
The ruling Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on Thursday that about 262,200 new cases of fever and one death had been confirmed over a 24-hour period through 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
North Korea has been confirming 200,000 to 300,000 cases of fever on a daily basis since the coronavirus outbreak was first reported last Thursday.
About 1.978 million people have reportedly had feverish symptoms since late April, and there have been 63 deaths.
Health authorities say hospital wards are being built across the country to isolate the sick, but more people are reportedly self-isolating at home.
Authorities say thousands of tons of salt have been urgently sent to the capital Pyongyang to speed up the production of disinfectant.
However, there are fears that more people will get sick because of the country's fragile healthcare system and lack of vaccines.
xinhua
