Doctor hand holding positive Coronavirus or Covid-19 rapid test - Courtesy.

One more patient has succumbed to the coronavirus raising the death toll to 72 in South Sudan.

A total of 174 new cases were confirmed on Thursday.

In a statement seen by Eye Radio, the Ministry of Health said the cases were confirmed after testing 859 samples from across the country.

70 of the cases were detected at the government’s public health laboratory, Nojum clinic with 3 cases, and 101 from Medblue clinic.

This brings the cumulative number of cases to 5,134 up from 4, 960 on Thursday.

The infections are on the rise despite South Sudan being in a partial lockdown.

Last week, the government banned all social gatherings, closed all businesses that attract crowds, which includes Shisha stalls, bars, night clubs, birthday parties, betting, cards and dominos.

But there is a general feeling from medical experts that the majority of the population is not complying with measures to combat the pandemic.

The Ministry of Health is urging the public to strictly practise social distancing, wearing of facemask, handwashing or sanitizing.

The public is advised to call the Ministry of Health on the toll-free number 6-6-6-6 in case a person is feeling unwell and if there are suspected cases of the virus.