N. Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases fall below 300: state media

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases dropped below 300, according to its state media Tuesday.

More than 250 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters.

It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. As of July 5, the death toll had stood at 74, with the fatality rate at 0.002 percent.

The total number of fever cases since late April came to over 4.77 million as of 6 p.m. Monday, of which 99.98 percent had recovered and at least 590 others are being treated, it added.

The North's daily fever tally has been on a downward trend after peaking at over 392,920 on May 15, three days after it announced a coronavirus outbreak.

The KCNA said the North's antivirus "work system and code of conduct have been further perfected" in each region to "completely defuse the current public health crisis."

"Provincial, city and county people's hospitals enhance the level of medical service and ensure the safety of treatment in close liaison with rapid consultative diagnosis teams organized at central-level hospitals," it said in an English-language report.

It added that emergency medical teams across the country are working to "correctly diagnose" enteric epidemic and other diseases and take swift measures to treat them.

Pyongyang disclosed its first COVID-19 case on May 12 after claiming to be coronavirus-free for over two years and implemented nationwide lockdowns.

In mid-June, the North also reported an outbreak of an "acute enteric epidemic" in South Hwanghae Province near the border with South Korea. It did not specify what the disease was. (Yonhap)