Covid-19 pandemic: North Korea's cases at 820,000, death toll hits 42

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called the growing outbreak of a fever “the big upheaval since the nation’s founding” as state media reported more new cases.

There were about 296,000 cases of fever with 15 deaths, the Korean Central News Agency said, adding to the more than 170,000 cases reported the previous day. The total death toll stands at 42.

Kim has ordered a lockdown of major cities since the country said earlier this week it found a Covid case within its borders. With some 820,000 cases reported since, Kim is seeking to beef up quarantine efforts as the outbreak has the potential to devastate a population that relies on an antiquated health care system and remains largely malnourished, with likely no vaccines.

In a Workers’ Party meeting on Saturday, Kim called on officials to be confident they can contain the contagion as the outbreak remains limited to certain areas and to learn from other countries, especially China, on ways to deal with it, the Korean Central News Agency reported.

He also criticized party organs for “incompetence and a lack of responsibility” and called for preparing the political organization to win the fight.

Shanghai to gradually start reopening malls, businesses

The Chinese financial and manufacturing hub of Shanghai will gradually begin reopening businesses such as shopping malls and hair salons from Monday after weeks in a strict Covid-19 lockdown, the city's vice mayor told a media briefing on Sunday. Shanghai, which has been locked-down for more than six weeks, is in the midst of a recent tightening in some areas that it hopes marks a final push in its battle with the virus. Shopping malls, department stores, and supermarkets will begin resuming in-store operations and allow customers to shop in “an orderly way”. (Reuters).

18-year-old gunman kills 10 in racial attack in New York

An 18-year-old white gunman shot 10 people to death and wounded three at a grocery store in a Black neighborhood of upstate New York, before surrendering after what authorities called an act of “racially motivated violent extremism.” Authorities said the suspect, who was armed with an assault-style rifle and appeared to have acted alone, drove to Buffalo from his home several hours away to launch the attack that he broadcast on social media platform Twitch. (Reuters).

2 Sikh businessmen killed in broad daylight in Pak

Two Sikh businessmen were shot dead on Sunday by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the latest targeted terrorist attack against the minority community in the restive province bordering Afghanistan. Saljeet Singh, 42, and Ranjeet Singh, 38, died on the spot after being attacked by two bike-borne assailants in the morning, according to the police. The attackers fled after carrying out the attack. (PTI).