April 7, 2020 (Nyamilepedia) — South Sudan government on Tuesday confirmed its second COVID-19 case a day after the country’s Taskforce formed by President Salva Kiir last month confirmed the first case.
Speaking to the state-owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) this evening, Dr. Makur Koryom who said yesterday that the government was investigating four suspected cases said a patient who recently returned to the country from Kenya tested positive.
The patient – like the first one – is a UN mission staffer who is in her late 50s. He however said the female UN staffer is in a stable condition and the government together with the UN mission were tracing her previous contact.
South Sudan’s handling of the fight against COVID-19 is being criticized because it discovered the two cases after staying in the country for more than a month sparking fears that many from the citizens might have been exposed to the virus.
There are also reports that many people are infected with the virus and the government had sought to send a critically ill COVID-19 patient to Kenya before he was denied entry by Kenyan airport police yesterday.
Cases of the virus are rising in countries around South Sudan. Kenya, South Sudan’s neighbor has recorded the highest cases in East Africa with Ethiopia coming second.
