The latest data places South Sudan among the top countries with a rapid increase in #COVID19 confirmed cases. In the last 29 days the cases seem to have doubled.

In February, the cases were 4,355, as it stands now the country has recorded more than 8,500 cases with 102 deaths. 

_{Cumulative number of confirmed cases since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.}

According to the graph, since the start of the pandemic, South Sudan has been recording fewer than 50 cases per day. However, since January 2021 the country has witnessed a change in the trend and spike in numbers. The Ministry of Health is now reporting more than 100 cases daily.

_{Number of confirmed Covid-19 cases per day.}

But, how did South Sudan get here? 

On March 14, 2020, the South Sudan government announced a partial lockdown in the country in a bid to control the spread of coronavirus, even before a positive case was recorded in the country.

The restrictions included the suspension of flights to and from countries affected by the novel virus, closure of schools, and suspension of social, political, and religious gatherings.

On April 4, the same year, South Sudan recorded its first case making it the 51st African country to confirm a case. The second case was recorded two days later. As the cases increased, concerns were raised over the surge of infection overwhelming the country’s ailing health system.  

However, On May 7, 2020, at a time when the country was still witnessing an upsurge of the virus the government issued a directive to ease Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in the country, a move sharply criticized by many.

Through a statement, the South Sudan Doctors’ Union said the move was ill-timed and it would hurt millions of people in the country. 

“SSDU believes that easing restrictions would encourage transmission to areas where health professionals are not trained and where facilities are not available to quarantine positive cases,” the union said in a statement. 

What is the importance of lockdown?

According to experts “lockdown is a smart way to cubbing the pandemic. Ceasing most human contact is the only way to stop the spread of the virus. Essentially, the fewer contact people have with each other, the less the virus can spread.” 

Last month, the South Sudan National Taskforce on Covid-19 reintroduced a one-month partial lockdown after a surge of cases across the country.

With the fragility of the health system, the country is yet to receive vaccines that would help stem the spread of the virus.