Hussein Abdelbagi and President Salva Kiir. File photo.

Vice President Hussein Abdelbagi and chairman of National Taskforce on Covid-19, is reportedly among 188 people who tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.

According to the COVID-19 taskforce, Abdelbagi and some members of his support staff are among the 188 positive cases confirmed by the Public Health Laboratory in the last 24 hours.

He is the fourth senior government official to publically disclose his Covid-19 status after testing positive.

“I call upon the public to observe the rules, stay home and practice social distancing, washing hands, and avoiding handshaking,” Abdelbagi told the press on Wednesday.

“The taskforce is working tirelessly to curb the level of spread and transmission, however, the general public must comply with the regulation and this will enable the fight coronavirus effective, stay safe.”

In the past weeks, First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, Defense Minister Angelina Teny, and Information Minister Michael Makuei, all disclosed that they tested positive for the virus.

The taskforce says two more deaths due to COVID-19 were also recorded on Wednesday.

South Sudan’s confirmed cases now stand at 994 with 10 deaths and 6 recoveries.