Coronavirus: superspreader military parade blamed for deadly North Korea outbreak

Photos of the April 25 parade, marking the army’s 90th anniversary, showed huge crowds at Pyongyang’s Kim Il-sung Square unmasked and not socially distanced

At the time, North Korea still had yet to report a single Covid-19 case. It now has more than 1 million infections, and at least 50 people have died

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife wave to the crowds at the April 25 military parade. At the time, North Korea still had yet to report a single Covid-19 case. Photo: Korean Central News Agency via Reuters

Published: 2:04pm, 16 May 2022Updated: 2:48pm, 16 May 2022

A massive military parade in North Korea has been identified as a Covid-19 superspreader event after a number of soldiers who took part tested positive for the virus.

Several guards stationed in the city of Sinuiju, which borders China, began showing Covid-19 symptoms earlier this month, US-funded non-profit outlet Radio Free Asia reported.

“They had high fevers and acute respiratory symptoms […] and after testing by the health authorities, it was confirmed that they were infected with the Omicron variant,” an unnamed border security official told the outlet. “Most of the ones who tested positive are officers and soldiers who took part in the military parade [ …] on April 25.”

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North Korea held a massive military parade on April 25 to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of its army, where it gathered more than 20,000 soldiers and put on a weapons display.

State media-released photos showed huge crowds at Pyongyang’s Kim Il-sung Square unmasked and not socially distanced.

At the time, North Korea still had yet to report a single Covid-19 case since the pandemic began – although experts have expressed doubt over the accuracy of its virus reporting.