North Korea admits to Covid outbreak for first time and declares ‘severe national emergency’

Omicron infections create biggest emergency incident in the country', according to state media, as Kim Jong-un chairs response meeting

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North Korea has declared a severe national emergency" after confirming its first outbreak of Covid-19, prompting its leader, Kim Jong-un, to vow to quickly eliminate the virus.

State media reported on Thursday that a sub-variant of the highly transmissible Omicron virus, known as BA.2, had been detected in the capital, Pyongyang.