NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

North Korea has confirmed its first COVID-19 death, a day after admitting its first case of the virus. The country reported 18-thousand fever cases and six deaths on Thursday alone. According to the North's Korean Central News Agency on Friday, leader Kim Jong-un was briefed on the situation during his visit to the emergency quarantine command the previous day. The report said that unknown fever cases erupted nationwide since late April, affecting 350-thousand people in that short period of time.
South Korea has enough courses of Paxlovid, an oral treatment for COVID-19, to be used by more than 481-thousand people. It is nearly double the amount that have been prescribed so far. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of Thursday evening, another antiviral medicine Lagevrio had stockpiles for over 80-thousand people while more than 20-thousand courses have been administered. The government said it will secure more pills for another one million people and also expand access to include those 12 and older with underlying medical conditions.