Coronavirus: "Almost All" Members of Covid-19 Task Force in South Sudan Test Positive

Ten ministers in the country are now confirmed to have contracted coronavirus.

Coronavirus: "Almost All" Members of Covid-19 Task Force in South Sudan Test Positive

All former members of a high-level task force on coronavirus in South Sudan – apart from the health minister – have test positive for the disease, the Information Minister Michael Makuei has said.

The Minister however denied reports that President Salva Kiir - who was also a member of the team - had tested positive.

Per the reports from BBC, ten ministers in the country are now confirmed to have contracted coronavirus.

It comes just days after first Vice-President Riek Machar announced he had tested positive alongside his wife, Defence Minister Angelina Teny.

They tested positive after coming into contact with a former member of the team, who has Covid-19.

All the ministers infected are now in self-isolation and the government says they are in good health.

 

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Dozens of bodyguards and staff of the officials also tested positive and are quarantined.

South Sudan has seen a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in recent days with 481 confirmed cases and six deaths.

There are fears the virus could cause havoc in South Sudan, whose healthcare system is barely functioning following decades of conflict, while hundreds of thousands are living in camps for displaced people.

 

 

SOURCE: BBC