SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Friday six people died and nearly 190,000 are under quarantine following a rapid spread of fever across the nation in recent weeks, a day after it first acknowledged a COVID-19 outbreak in a largely unvaccinated population.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Friday that more than 350,000 people were treated for fever that “explosively” spread nationwide since late April and that 162,200 people recovered. It said said 187,800 people are being isolated for treatment after 18,000 people were newly found with fever symptoms on Thursday alone.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many of the cases were COVID-19 and the country likely lacks testing supplies. The North said one of the six people who died was confirmed to have been infected with the omicron variant.
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Photos: Kim Jong Un's public appearances through the years
In this undated photo released on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010, by Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il, right, poses for a group photo with newly elected members of the central leadership body of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK) and the participants in the WPK Conference in front of the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, North Korea. A north Korean newspaper which used the photo Thursday identified Kim Jong Un, the third son of Kim Jong Il, as being in the photo, believed to be at left. At center is Vice Marshal Ri Yong Ho. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service)
In this image made from KRT television, Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Il's youngest son and successor, walks next to his father's hearse during a funeral procession of the late North Korean leader, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT
In this undated photo released by Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service in Tokyo Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010, Kim Jong Un, second from left, the third son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, claps after inspecting the construction site of the Huichon Power Station with his father in Chagang Province, North Korea. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service) ** JAPAN OUT **
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves from a car after arriving by train in Dong Dang in Vietnamese border town Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, ahead of his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiles during a meeting with President Donald Trump, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. at right is Kim Yong Chol, a North Korean senior ruling party official and former intelligence chief. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un passes honor guards as he arrives at the train station to leave Russia, in Vladivostok, Russia, Friday, April 26, 2019. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid his respects at a ceremony honoring the war dead Friday before wrapping up a brief and generally successful visit to the Russian Far East for his first summit with President Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo/Alexander Khitrov)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un listens for a Russian national anthem as he leaves Russia, at the main train station in Vladivostok, Russia, Friday, April 26, 2019. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid his respects at a ceremony honoring the war dead Friday before wrapping up a brief and generally successful visit to the Russian Far East for his first summit with President Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo/Alexander Khitrov)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, and Russian Minister for the development of the Russian Far East Alexander Kozlov, left, pass honor guards during a leaving ceremony at the main train station in Vladivostok, Russia, Friday, April 26, 2019. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid his respects at a ceremony honoring the war dead Friday before wrapping up a brief and generally successful visit to the Russian Far East for his first summit with President Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo/Alexander Khitrov)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, background attends a leaving ceremony at the main train station in Vladivostok, Russia, Friday, April 26, 2019. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid his respects at a ceremony honoring the war dead Friday before wrapping up a brief and generally successful visit to the Russian Far East for his first summit with President Vladimir Putin.(AP Photo/Alexander Khitrov)
In this image made from KRT video, North Korea's next leader Kim Jong Un is seen during a memorial service for late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT
In this undated image made from KRT video, North Korea's new young leader Kim Jong Un appears from a military vehicle at an undisclosed place in North Korea, aired Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. Kim Jong Un, who was named "supreme leader" of North Korea's people, ruling Workers' Party and military following the death last month of his father, Kim Jong Il, was shown observing firing exercises and posing for photographs with soldiers in footage that was shot before his father's death and aired as a documentary Sunday. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT
In this undated image made from KRT video, North Korea's new young leader Kim Jong Un rides a horse at an undisclosed place in North Korea, aired Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. Kim Jong Un, who was named "supreme leader" of North Korea's people, ruling Workers' Party and military following the death last month of his father, Kim Jong Il, was shown observing firing exercises and posing for photographs with soldiers in footage that was shot before his father's death and aired as a documentary Sunday. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT
In this image made from KRT video, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claps before giving his first public speech during a massive celebration marking the 100th birthday of national founder Kim Il Sung, Sunday, April 15, 2012, at Kim Il Sung Square, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Kim praised his grandfather, as tens of thousands gathered in Pyongyang's main square for meticulously choreographed festivities that came two days after a failed rocket launch. (AP Photo/KRT via AP video) NORTH KOREA OUT, TV OUT
** FOR USE AS DESIRED, YEAR END PHOTOS ** FILE -In this Oct. 10, 2010 file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's son Kim Jong Un attends a massive military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the communist nation's ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
In this photo taken on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010 released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Kim Jong Un, third from left, the third son of North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il, applauds while watching the Arirang mass games performance staged to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Yao Dawei) ** NO SALES **
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, right, and his third son Kim Jong Un, center, applaud before a massive military parade celebrating the 65th anniversary of the communist nation's Workers' Party, in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Yao Dawei) ** NO SALES **
In this undated photo released by Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service in Tokyo April 6, 2011, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, center, along with his son Kim Jong Un, second right, visit a factory in Jagang Province, North Korea. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION
In this Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed in Tokyo, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011, by the Korea News Service, Kim Jong Un, center, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's youngest known son and successor, visits at Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, North Korea, to pay respect to his father. At far left front is Jong Un's uncle Jang Song Thaek. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION
In this undated file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, raises his arm at an undisclosed location in North Korea. North Korea on Friday Jan. 20, 2012, credited new leader Kim Jong Un with spearheading past nuclear testing, as it adds to a growing personality cult that portrays the young son of late leader Kim Jong Il as a confident military commander. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service, File) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION
New North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves at Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang after reviewing a parade of thousands of soldiers and commemorating the 70th birthday of the late Kim Jong Il on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends an unveiling ceremony for statues of late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, April 13, 2012.(AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
North Korea's new commander in chief, Kim Jong Un is displayed on a giant screen during a concert on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean army in Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday, April 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrives for a national meeting of top party and military officials on the eve of the first anniversary of the death of late leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
In this undated photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service Thursday, July 26, 2012, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, reacts on a ride as he attends the completion ceremony of the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrives for the official opening of the Ryomyong residential area, a collection of more than a dozen apartment buildings, on Thursday, April 13, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
In this video image taken from KRT, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un holds up his credential at the Supreme People's Assembly's second meeting of the year, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012. North Korea's parliament convened Tuesday for the second time in six months, passing a law that adds one year of compulsory education for children in the socialist nation, the first publicly-announced policy change under leader Kim. (AP Photo/KRT via AP video) NORTH KOREA OUT
In this image taken from video North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second from left, salutes during a military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the country's founding, Monday, Sept. 9, 2013, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo/KRT via AP Video) TV OUT, NORTH KOREA OUT
In this undated photo released by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service on Jan. 25, 2012, North Korean new leader Kim Jong Un greets students at Mangyongdae Revolutionary School in Pyongyang, North Korea, on the occasion of Chinese New Year. Young Kim gets rock star treatment when he visits his troops, just as his father did. But while the late Kim Jong Il mostly stayed aloof in dark shades, his son holds hands and hugs. He seems to want to bond. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service) JAPAN OUT UNTIL 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, fourth right, stands with officials as he cuts the ribbon at the official opening of the Ryomyong high-rise district, Thursday, April 13, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. While tensions between his country and the United States appeared to be escalating rapidly, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a high-profile appearance in Pyongyang on Thursday not to denounce Washington but to cut a ceremonial ribbon to mark the opening of a new high-rise district. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
FILE - In this Aug. 10, 2017, file photo, a man watches a television screen showing U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea. North Korea's state-run media say U.S. President Donald Trump's tweet about having a bigger nuclear button than Kim Jong Un's is the "spasm of a lunatic." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiles as he meets with President Donald Trump on Sentosa Island, Tuesday, June 12, 2018, in Singapore. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, Kim Jong Un, second right, cuts the ribbon during an inauguration ceremony of Pothong riverside terraced residential district in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, April 13, 2022. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, Kim Jong Un visits the new house of Korean Central Broadcasting announcer Ri Chun Hi, second right, after attending an inauguration ceremony of Pothong riverside terraced residential district in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, April 13, 2022. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
