At least 64 people who traveled from Juba to Yei River County in Central Equatoria State in defiance of the inter-state travel ban have been self-quarantined in their respective homes.
Dr. James Wani, the health ministry’s director general in the defunct Yei River State, Radio Tamazuj last Tuesday that the travelers came from Juba to Yei without undergoing COVID-19 test.
He said the travellers were advised to self-isolate for 14 days.
“These people came from Juba to Yei town using public transport. We recorded 64 of them, including women and children. They came to Yei without undergoing COVID-19 testing in Juba. We collected 23 samples from them and sent them to Juba for screening,” Wani explained.
The health official decried lack of strong control measures against inter-state movements put in place by law enforcement agencies.
John Alafi, a local resident in Yei town, urged the government to enforce directives put in place to control movements on highways.
“We understand the government has closed the roads leading to Juba and other parts of Yei and we want the government to be serious on restricting people because other people will claim they are businessmen and women. We all know that coronavirus is a dangerous disease,” he said.
For his part, Major General Yoasa Lujang Kamba, the area police commissioner confirmed that continuous movement of people within Central Equatoria State still exists, despite the ban on such travels.
“We will not allow illegal entry of people into Yei town and any person coming into Yei must use the official routes and undergo screening to prevent the spread of coronavirus,” he said.
He added, “We are calling on all the chiefs and everybody to join hands in the fight against COVID-19 because the virus is a threat to all of us.”
South Sudan has so far recorded 156 cases of the novel coronavirus.