VOA健康报道2022--朝鲜用茶和盐水对抗新冠病毒

North Korea Fights COVID with Leaves and Tea

Most of the world has been dealing¹ with COVID-19 since early 2020. But North Korea only recently admitted it is dealing with a widespread local outbreak of the disease.

On Thursday, North Korean health officials said over 2 million people have been sickened with a fast-spreading fever since late April. They also said 63 people have died. North Korea said it has quarantined over 740,000 people suspected of having the fever-causing illness.

A fever, or high body temperature, is a common sign of COVID-19 infection.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently appeared in public with a protective face covering. During a visit to a drugstore, he said he regretted that officials were slow in getting medicine to people. Officials who work for Kim have urged people with mild symptoms to drink special kinds of tea known as willow² leaf and honeysuckle.

Observers say North Korea's poor, unvaccinated population is fearful of a rise in COVID-19 in their country.

Kang Mi-jin is a North Korean defector. She told The Associated Press that she has talked with contacts in the North Korean city of Hyesan.

"North Koreans know so many people around the world have died because of COVID-19, so they have fear that some of them could die, too," she said. Some have bought traditional medicine to deal with their worries.

Pandemic measures

North Korea's pandemic measures appear largely centered on quarantining suspected patients. The country lacks vaccines⁴, antiviral pills, intensive care units and other medical tools that can help save people's lives.

State media said one million public workers went out to identify suspected patients. State media also has reported that the military has helped with getting medicines to the drugstores.

State television aired infomercials advising people to see doctors if they have breathing problems, spit up blood, or pass out. They also explain what medicines patients can take, including homemade treatments such as honey tea.

The country's main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, advised people with mild symptoms to boil 4 to 5 grams of willow or honeysuckle leaves in hot water and drink that three times a day.

"Their guidelines⁵ don't make sense at all. It's like the government is asking people to contact doctors only if they have breathing difficulties, which means just before they die," said former North Korean agriculture official Cho Chung Hui, who fled to South Korea in 2011. "My heart aches when I think about my brother and sister in North Korea and their suffering."

People are fearful

Since May 12, North Korea has banned travel between areas of the country. But it has not attempted to put in place more severe lockdowns like neighboring China has done.

North Korea's economy is struggling because of pandemic border closures, years of mismanagement, and international sanctions⁷ against the country because of its nuclear program.

Because of the economic situation, the country's leaders have pressed for farming, building and other industrial activities to continue.

The office of the U.N. High Commissioner⁸ for Human Rights expressed worry this week that pandemic restrictions⁹ will hurt people in North Korea. "Children, lactating mothers, older people, the homeless and those living in more isolated¹⁰ rural and border areas are especially vulnerable¹¹," the office said in a statement.

Defectors in South Korea say they worry about their loved ones back in North Korea. "My father and sibling¹² are still in North Korea and I'm worrying about them a lot because they weren't inoculated¹⁴ and there aren't many medicines there," said Kang Na-ra, who fled to South Korea in late 2014. She was recently told that her grandmother in the North died of pneumonia¹⁵ last September. Kang believes her grandmother's sickness was caused by COVID-19.

Defector Choi Song-juk said she was not able to contact her sister in the North. "I feel so sad. I must connect with her again because she must be without food and picking wild greens," said Choi, who left North Korea in 2015.

Offers of help

In recent years, North Korea has built some modern hospitals and improved its medical systems. But critics say they are mostly for the country's ruling class. Free medical service for the masses remains¹⁶ limited.

Recent defectors say people do not trust drugs produced in North Korea because of quality issues. But foreign medications from South Korea, China and Russia are costly¹⁷. "If you are sick in North Korea, we often say you will die," Choi said.

So far, North Korea has not publicly answered offers of medical help from South Korea and the United States.

Choi Jung Hun is a former North Korean doctor who resettled in South Korea. He is now a researcher in Seoul. He suspects North Korea is underreporting the effects of COVID-19.

"One day, they'll say they've contained COVID-19," Choi said. "By comparing its death toll¹⁸ with that of the U.S. and South Korea, they'll say they've done a really good job and their anti-epidemic system is the world's best."

Words in This Story

quarantine - v. to keep a person away from others to prevent a disease from spreading

mismanagement - n. act of managing something badly

sanction⁶ - n. an action taken to force a country to obey international laws by limiting trade or aide to thew country

vulnerable - adj. easily hurt or harm

sibling - n. a brother or sister

inoculate¹³ - v. to give vaccine³ shot

toll - n. the number of people who are killed

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

3 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

4 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

5 guidelines   

n.指导方针，准则

参考例句：

• The government has drawn up guidelines on the treatment of the mentally ill. 政府制订了对待精神病人的指导方针。
• Planners seem a little uncomfortable with the current government guidelines. 规划师似乎不太接受现行的政府指道方针。

6 sanction   

v.同意（某事），批准，认可；n.批准，国际制裁

参考例句：

• Prison is the best sanction against a crime like this.为遏止这类罪行，监禁手段是上策。
• Official sanction has not yet been given.尚未获得正式批准。

7 sanctions   

批准( sanction的名词复数 )； 认可； 制裁； 约束力

参考例句：

• There was general acquiescence in the UN sanctions. 普遍默认了联合国的制裁。
• Trade sanctions were imposed against any country that refused to sign the agreement. 凡拒签该协议的国家均受到贸易制裁。

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

11 vulnerable   

adj.易受伤的，脆弱的，易受攻击的

参考例句：

• He volunteered to protect her as she looked so vulnerable.她看上去很脆弱，他就主动去保护她。
• The company is in an economically vulnerable position.该公司目前经济状况不稳定。

12 sibling   

n.同胞手足(指兄、弟、姐或妹)

参考例句：

• Many of us hate living in the shadows of a more successful sibling.我们很多人都讨厌活在更为成功的手足的阴影下。
• Sibling ravalry has been common in this family.这个家里，兄弟姊妹之间的矛盾很平常。

13 inoculate   

v.给...接种，给...注射疫苗

参考例句：

• A corps of doctors arrived to inoculate the recruits.一队医生来给新兵打防疫针。
• I was just meant to come out here and inoculate some wee babies.我是过来这边给小孩子们接种疫苗的。

14 inoculated   

v.给…做预防注射( inoculate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A pedigree pup should have been inoculated against serious diseases before it's sold. 纯种狗应该在出售前注射预防严重疾病的针。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Disease can be spread by dirty tools, insects, inoculated soil. 疾病也能由不干净的工具，昆虫，接种的土壤传播。 来自辞典例句

15 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

18 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。