South Sudan has confirmed 15 additional coronavirus cases, COVID-19 Incident Manager Dr. Richard Laku announced on Thursday.

This brings the total number of cases in the country to 2,036.

Of the 15 new cases, 13 are males and two are females.

 In a statement, Dr. Richard said the new cases were dawn from128 samples tested by the Public Health Laboratory. He disclosed that the cumulative number of recoveries stands at 494, while the number of fatalities remains at 38.

The health official said that a total of 440 contacts that were being traced have been reached and that a total of 4,151 contacts have so far completed their mandatory 14-day follow-up.

Richard urged the public to adhere to guidelines set by the Ministry of Health, key among them social distancing and handwashing with water and soap.