South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir says he may consider imposing total lockdown if COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the country.
Speaking via video conference at a consultative meeting with his East African Community (EAC) counterparts on Tuesday, Kiir said his government has taken firm measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“The strategic priority areas for the government of the Republic of South Sudan are, one, reaching all the community with messages of social distancing, personal and respiratory hygiene. Two, enhancing our national capacity to manage cases both at home and in our hospitals. Three, continue to take stringent measures to control population movement including total lockdown as the situation may dictate. Four, working closely with our partners and the region to leverage resources to meet this enormous challenge,” he explained.
The meeting was held to share existing knowledge and information on the COVID-19 pandemic, deliberate on the COVID-19 pandemic, map out containment strategies to steam out any further spread of the disease in the region and develop a clear plan to mitigate against impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the region.
The South Sudanese leader said ever since the first case of the coronavirus was announced, measures were put in place control it.
South Sudan’s High-Level Taskforce on COVID-19 on Thursday confirmed 28 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 231.
The increase in the coronavirus cases comes nearly a week after the government eased restrictions which were imposed as part of measures to help control the spread of the pandemic in the country.
The first case of coronavirus in South Sudan was confirmed on April 5.
The virus is spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes and the droplets land in the mouths and noses of another person.
A person can also get infected with coronavirus by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or their eyes.
The most effective ways to protect yourself and others against COVID-19 are to frequently clean your hands, cover your cough with the bend of elbow or tissue, and maintain a distance of at least 1 meter from people who are coughing or sneezing.