Amid an explosive spread of an illness in North Korea suspected to be COVID-19, the cumulative number of fever cases in the country reportedly surpassed two million.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) on Friday said the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters reported two new deaths and 263-thousand-370 more people with fever symptoms in the 24 hour-period leading up to 6 p.m. Thursday.

The KCNA said the new figures raised the total number of fever cases to two million-241-thousand-610 since late April. The figure surpassed the two million mark just eight days after the country first admitted to detecting the virus last Thursday.

The report said over one-point-48 million of them have recovered and some 755-thousand are receiving treatment. The cumulative death toll rose to 65.

According to figures provided by the North, the number of people found with fever have remained in the 200-thousand range for four days since peaking at nearly 400-thousand on Sunday.

[Photo : KBS News]