Pyongyang, July 1 (KCNA) -- The State Emergency Epidemic Prevention Headquarters in the DPRK on Thursday declared its finding on the route of inroads of the malignant COVID-19 virus, which has rapidly spread in the DPRK since late April.

Under the guideline of the Party and the state on thoroughly ascertaining the course of the pandemic inroads, which is essential for curbing and controlling the grave health crisis facing the country in the shortest period and perfecting the national anti-epidemic and counter-crisis ability, the headquarters organized an investigation committee comprising the relevant professional organs. Then, it had conducted a detailed epidemiological survey and a scientific and rhetorical investigation after setting up the possibility and hypothesis over the route of the malignant virus inroads on a nationwide scale.

The investigation results showed that several persons coming from the area of Ipho-ri in Kumgang County of Kangwon Province to the capital city in mid-April were in fever and a sharp increase of fever cases was witnessed among their contacts and that a group of fevered persons emerged in the area of Ipho-ri for the first time.

It was also ascertained that the fever cases, reported in all areas and units of the country except the Ipho-ri area till mid-April, were due to other diseases and there had been no herd fever outbreak.

Consequently, a scientific conclusion was drawn that Ipho-ri of Kumgang County is the first area of the malignant epidemic outbreak in the country.

The investigation committee, involving competent persons and experts from the Bioengineering Branch, the Biotechnology Institute and the Virus Institute under the State Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Medical Science, the Ministry of State Security, the Ministry of Public Security, the Central Public Prosecutors Office and other relevant units, surveyed and analyzed in a diverse, anatomical and comprehensive way the factors which could be regarded as a route of the epidemic virus inroads into the area of Ipho-ri. According to its investigation, it was known that an 18-year-old soldier surnamed Kim and a five-year-old kindergartener surnamed Wi contacted with alien things in a hill around barracks and residential quarters in Ipho-ri early in April. And they showed the clinic features, to be estimated as early symptom of the epidemic infection, and tested positive for novel coronavirus. Hence, a consensus of views was reached on the cause of the infection by COVID-19.

With the clinic characters shown by those fevered persons and the results of their epidemiological links and antibody test, the investigation committee scientifically and finally confirmed that COVID-19 made inroads into the area of Ipho-ri, Kumgang County for the first time as well as its cause.

It also analyzed the details of how the epidemic, infiltrated into Ipho-ri of Kumgang County, had spread over various parts of the country simultaneously.

The non-permanent state emergency anti-epidemic examination committee evaluated that the investigation committee exactly verified the source of the epidemic inroads in a rhetorical and sci-tech way after analyzing in an overall way the investigation into the inroads of the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant. And it reported the results to the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and the Cabinet.

With the confirmation of the epidemic inroads course, the State Emergency Epidemic Prevention Headquarters saw to it that an emergency instruction was issued; an instruction stressing the need to vigilantly deal with alien things coming by wind and other climate phenomena and balloons in the areas along the demarcation line and borders and trace their source to the last, strengthen the all-people supervision and report system, in which anyone notifies of alien things instantly after seeing them, and tighten such anti-epidemic measure as making the emergency anti-epidemic teams strictly remove those things. -0-

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