自北韓官方傳媒5月12日報道Omicron疫情，指4月底以來有6人死亡，35萬人因一種不明疾病而接受治療之後，有跡象表明，Omicron病毒正在朝鮮擴散，當局不僅迅速採取行動，採取措施抗擊疫情，還與中國合作，加強醫療用品供應和物流保障。
據報道，5月12日，有18000名北韓公民發燒。死亡的6人中，有一人遭到Omicron變種病毒攻擊。4月份「發燒」的35萬人中，有18.78萬人被隔離治療。
建國以來「最重大的緊急事件」
北韓領袖金正恩5月10日主持勞動黨政治局會議，稱國家遭遇危機，並敦促官員必須遏制這種疾病的傳播。金正恩補充說，抵禦新冠病毒的防疫戰線已經被「擊破」。他強調，政府必須在全國實施封鎖政策，以抵禦Omicron病毒傳播，同時要保障公民生活便利。 因此，所有工作、生產和生活單位都必須實施隔離措施，完全阻斷病毒的傳播空間。 5月10日的政治局會議將國家防疫工作轉移到「最大緊急防疫體系」，表明北韓領導層將Omicron病毒的傳播視為國家安全問題。
金正恩將這種「惡性病毒傳播」形容為建國以來「最重大的緊急事件」。 不過，他認為，如果朝鮮能夠保持「強大的組織能力」，「穩定遏制並管控」病毒傳播，朝鮮將能夠戰勝新冠病情。他還提到朝鮮要學習中國的經驗。
5月13日，北韓發現「發燒」病例17.4萬宗，新增死亡病例增至21宗。4月底至5月12日，累計感染52萬人，死亡27人，隔離28.8萬人，康復23萬人。看來，Omicron感染病例在5月12日至13日激增。
金正恩批評領導幹部防疫不積極
5月18日，北韓中央通訊社報道，金正恩承認他的國家在應對新冠病毒危機的能力「不成熟」，並指責一些「國家領導幹部」表現出的不積極和懈怠的態度。他還批評道，「時間就是生命，這只會進一步增加抗疫早期的複雜性和艱鉅性」。
北韓一直缺乏疫苗來抗擊新冠病毒及其變種的傳播。此外，該國的公共衛生設施亦不足。北韓公共衛生官員已經制定了應對新冠病毒的詳細指引，同時防止過度使用藥物進行治療。有關指引詳細介紹了公共衛生官員如何處理感染新冠病毒及其變種的不同類型患者，以及應針對不同的患者中使用何種藥物。
5月17日，北韓人民軍被派往平壤市內藥店，每天24小時安排藥品供應。5月12日至16日，Omicron病毒的迅速傳播令北韓政府感到震驚，北韓政府不得不動員軍醫部門，向平壤市內所有藥店啟動24小時藥品供應。
在韓朝官員之間的定期溝通機制中，韓國統一部表示，朝鮮方面沒有答應韓方提議就防疫合作舉行工作磋商。韓方正耐心等待朝方答覆。南韓願意向北韓提供新冠病毒疫苗和其他醫療用品。
派飛機赴瀋陽 接收中國醫療物資
5月15日，3架北韓高麗航空的飛機抵達中國遼寧省瀋陽市。裝載醫療物資後，同日下午飛回北韓。飛機上沒有任何中方人員搭乘。有台灣傳媒5月17日報道，北韓方面要求中國提供醫療物資，以抗擊Omicron病毒。
5月16日，中國外交部發言人趙立堅在新聞發布會上表示，防疫工作是全人類面臨的共同課題，「中朝雙方有守望相助的優良傳統」，中方願同包括朝方在內的國際社會一道，相互支持，加強合作，共同打贏疫情防控阻擊戰」。
趙立堅發言論之際，恰巧有報道指，北韓高麗航空旗下的飛機飛往瀋陽運載醫療物資。就這樣，中朝合作抗擊Omicron在北韓傳播的行動開始了。
5月17日，台灣《聯合報》報道，自4月底以來，北韓死亡人數上升至56例，南韓估計死亡人數可能是北韓官方公布數字的5至6倍。此外，北韓醫院的基建設施不足、設備和醫療用品不足，使感染新冠病毒及其變種的患者極為脆弱。
一些南韓公共衛生官員認為，北韓依賴「發燒」的指標來判斷患者是否感染Omicron，但北韓當局並未實施檢測Omicron病毒的政策。如果這個推測是正確的，那麼北韓感染Omicron病毒患者的數量可能會高得多。
民眾喝金銀花茶服抗生素防疫
然而，也有報道指，北韓早在4月下旬就開始從中國購入口罩、退燒藥和檢測試劑盒等醫療用品。5月中旬，人民軍被派往平壤的藥店處理醫療物資的分配時，北韓國務委員會第一副委員長、最高人民會議常任委員會委員長崔龍海和內閣總理、勞動黨中央政治局常委金德訓等視察了藥物供需的情況。
北韓當局指示民眾如何應對Omicron病毒引起的發燒，例如定期用鹽水漱口和飲用金銀花茶或柳葉茶來緩和發燒症狀。人們還使用抗生素來對付Omicron病毒。
5月20日，台灣有新聞報道指北韓感染Omicron病毒的病例總數已達到200萬例，南韓情報機構推測金正恩尚未接種新冠疫苗。
抗疫取得成果或已到達高峰期
不過，根據有關金正恩的最新報道，他在最近一次的政治局會議上表示，北韓境內疫情逐漸得到控制，痊癒人數日益增加，死亡病例明顯減少，大部分地區的疫情形勢穩定。此外，北韓當局為抗擊Omicron擴散採取的緊急措施已經取得「積極成果」。鑑於Omicron病毒傳播需要將近一個半月的時間才能達到頂峰，如果疫情從4月開始，北韓的疫情可能已經達到高峰期。
總之，北韓抗擊Omicron病毒取得了積極成果，部分原因在於其在逆境的復原能力和當局的迅速行動，部分原因在於北韓人對政策的理解。在中國向北韓提供醫療物資的幫助下，Omicron病毒在北韓的傳播或許已經達到高峰期。如何打贏Omicron變種病毒及其傳播這一仗，顯然已成為北韓的國家安全問題。然而，通過動員民眾、政府官員和軍隊，北韓正在逐步渡過難關。
North Korea’s Battle Against Omicron
Since the North Korean state media reported cases of Omicron on May 12 that six people died and 350,000 people had been treated after the end of April for an obscure disease, there weresigns that Omicron was spreading in North Korea where the authorities are not only taking swift measures to battle the infectious disease but also working with China to strengthen medical supplies and logistics.
On May 12, 18,000 citizens reportedly had fever. Among the six people who died, one was attacked by Omicron. Among the 350,000 people who had fever in April, 187,800 were quarantined and received treatment.
The North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un presided over the Politburo meeting of the Workers’ Party on May 10, saying that the nation encountered a crisis and urging that officials must curb the spread of the disease. Kim added that the system of resisting Covid-19 had shown “gaps.” He emphasized that the government must implement the policy of quarantining the entire nation to resist the spread of Omicron, while at the same time protecting the convenience of citizens. As such, all enterprises, production units and community must take quarantine measures to segregate those citizens infected with Covid-19 and its variants. The Politburo meeting on May 10 elevated the battle against Omicron to the highest level, showing that the North Korean leadership saw the spread of Omicron as a national security matter.
Kim Jong-un described the “vicious cycle of the spread of infectious disease” as the “greatest disaster” since the founding of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). However, he thought that if North Korea could maintain “strong organizational ability and controllability,” the country would be able to overcome Covid-19. He mentioned the need for North Korea to learn from the experiences of China.
On May 13, 174,000 cases of fever were found, and the number of new death incidents increased to 21. From the end of April to May 12, 520,000 people were infected and 27 people died, while 288,000 were undergoing quarantine and 230,000 people were recovering. It looked as if Omicron cases jumped up on May 12 and 13.
On May 18, the Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim Jong-un admitted the “immaturity” of his country in dealing with Covid-19, and that he accused some government officials of showing deficiency and lax attitude in resisting the infectious disease. On May 17, Kim presided over the Politburo meeting and said that “time is survival” in a “complex and difficult” period of coping with Covid-19 and its variants like Omicron.
North Korea has been lacking vaccines to resist the spread of Covid-19 and its variants. Moreover, the country’s public health facilities were inadequate. Public health officials in North Korea had already formulated a detailed guideline for dealing with Covid-19, while preventing the excessive use of medicine for treatment. The guideline included details on how public health officials dealt with different types of patients who were infected with Covid-19 and its variants, and on what kinds of medication should be used in various categories of patients.
On May 17, the North Korean military was sent to pharmacies at Pyongyang for the sake of arranging the supplies of medicine on a 24-hour daily basis. The rapid spread of Omicron from May 12 to May 16 alarmed the North Korean government, which had to mobilize the military to deal with the logistical supplies of medicine in the capital city.
In a regularly communicative mechanism between the officials of North Korea and South Korea, the South Korean Ministry of Unification said that the North Korean side had not responded to its proposals on how to cooperate and resist Covid-19 and Omicron. The South Korean side was patient in awaiting the reply from the North Korean counterpart. It was willing to provide anti-Covid vaccine and other medical supplies to North Korea.
On May 15 three North Korean airplanes arrived at Shenyang city in China’s Liaoning province. They carried logistical and medical supplies and flied back to North Korea in the afternoon of May 15. The airplanes did not carry any Chinese personnel. ATaiwan report on May 17 said that North Korea had already requested China for assistance in the provision of logistical supplies to combat Omicron in North Korea.
On May 16, the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in a press conference that anti-Covid work is a common mission of the world, that China and North Korea had an “excellent tradition of mutual guidance and assistance,” and that China is willing to support North Korea in the process of fighting Covid-19 and Omicron.
Zhao’s remarks coincided with the report that North Korean airplanes belonging to Air Koryo flied to Shenyang to acquire medical and logistical supplies. As such, the cooperation between China and North Korea to combat the spread of Omicron in North Korea began.
On May 17, the United Daily News in Taiwan reported that the number of deaths in North Korea rose to 56 cases since the end of April, and that the South Korean estimated the number of deaths might be five or six times higher than the official North Korean figure. Furthermore, the North Korean hospitals had insufficient infrastructure, facilities and medical supplies, making the patients infected with Covid-19 and its variants extremely vulnerable.
Some South Korean public health officials believed North Korea relied on the indicator of fever to establish whether the patients were infected with Omicron, but the North Korean authorities did not implement the policy of testing Omicron. If this speculation was accurate, then the number of patients infected with Omicron could have been much higher.
However, some reports said that North Korea had started buying medical supplies, such as masks, anti-fever medicine and testing kits, from China as early as late April. In mid-May, when the military was sent to pharmacies in Pyongyang to deal with the distribution of medical and logistical supplies, high-ranking military officials such as Choe Ryong-hae (chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly and First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission) and Premier Kim Tok-hun (also a full member of the Politburo of the Workers’ Party) inspected how the supplies were handled.
The North Korean authorities taught citizens on how to tackle their fever stemming from Omicron, such as using salty water to wash their mouth regularly and deploying herbal tea to suppress fever. Citizens also used antibiotics to deal with Omicron.
On May 20, a Taiwan news report said that the total number of North Korean cases infected with Omicron was reaching 2 million, and that the South Korean intelligence apparatusspeculated that Kim Jong-un has not yet received vaccination against Covid-19.
However, according to the latest report on Kim Jong-un, he said in the most recent Politburo meeting that the situation of Omicron in North Korea was improving. Moreover, the emergency measures adopted by North Korean authorities in combatting the spread of Omicron has already obtained “progressive results.” Given the pattern that Omicron’s spread took almost one and a half month to reach its apex, the North Korean circumstances might have reached its peak of Omicron attack if Omicron had begun in April.
In conclusion, North Korea’s battle against Omicron has achieved positive results, partly because of its resilience and prompt action and partly due to its policy learning. With the assistance from China in providing medical supplies to North Korea, the Omicron spread in North Korea has perhaps reached its peak. The question of how to fight the war successfully against Omicron and its spread has obviously become a national security issue in North Korea. Yet, by mobilizing its citizens, government officials and the military, North Korea is riding out the storm gradually.
原刊於澳門新聞通訊社（MNA）網站，本社獲作者授權轉載。
