President Salva Kiir on Thursday announced that another person has tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number to three.
Eye Radio’s reporter who covered the press conference said the patient is a 28-year-old UN female staff based in Torit, who is among the contacts of the first patient.
On Monday, the task force said the Ministry of Health was investigating four more suspected cases of the pandemic in the country.
The first and second cases of the pandemic were announced on 5 and 7 April 2020, respectively.
The two patients work for the UN. The first patient is a UN staff, 29, who arrived from the Netherlands via Addis Ababa on February 28.
The second is a 53-year-old woman who traveled to Juba from Nairobi, Kenya, in March.
“So far we have three confirmed cases of Covid-19 all from the people who have traveled to Juba and Torit from Covid-19 infected countries,” Kiir said. “So practically Covid-19 is in Juba and Torit and we must prevent it from spreading across the country.”
The president also said 65 contacts have been listed, while the ministry of health’s rapid response teams have collected 50 samples from the contacts of the three cases for testing.
“They are now tracing more contacts of all the confirmed cases and you will be updated accordingly,” Kiir added.
Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in almost all of the countries in the world, including South Sudan’s neighbors.
There’s currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease (COVID-19). You can protect yourself and help prevent spreading the virus to others if you:
Prevention
Do:
Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub,
Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze,
Avoid close contact (1 meter or 3 feet) with people who are unwell and
Stay home and self-isolate from others in the household if you feel unwell.
Don’t:
Touch your eyes, nose, or mouth if your hands are not clean.