Dr. Makur Matur Kariom, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, also a member of High-Level Taskforce. File: Charles Wote/Eye Radio.

South Sudan has confirmed 10 more positive cases of COVID-19, the High-Level Taskforce announced on Friday evening.

Out of the 138 test results released by the Public Health Laboratory, two positive cases are of truck drivers who were stopped at Nimule border.

Six are contacts of the sixth case while two are domestic travelers who wanted to travel to their home states, according to the High-Level Taskforce on Covid-19.

This raises the number of positive cases to 45 with no reported deaths and no recoveries.

“This raises an alarm and it sends a strong message to us that we need to do a lot,” said Dr. Makur Matur Koriom, the Undersecretary for the Ministry of Health, and spokesperson of the task force.

“The communities must understand the disease is here among us and that we must work hard to ensure that we minimize the risk of spreading the disease further particularly to areas that may be safe at the moment in the states and areas around Juba.”

Dr. Makur says the task force has directed quarantine of humanitarian workers for 14 days before they could be travel to the states.

“Health workers of Ministry of Health will be allowed to access that confining facility to monitor the staff, only then they will be allowed to travel to the states,” he added.

The health ministry says it has so far tested 1,247 suspected cases since the outbreak was first reported in the country.

157 contacts are also said to be under followed-up.

In the region, Kenya also announced 15 more positive cases on Friday, raising the number there to 411.