Melut County in Upper Nile State is at risk of a health crisis since not a single medical facility has tools to test for the novel coronavirus, a health official said.

Isaac Aruny, the Medical Director of Melut Civil Hospital, told Radio Tamazuj last Thursday that they still lack machines to diagnose COVID-19.

"The biggest challenge is the lack of testing kits. There is no place equipped for quarantine in case of an outbreak,” Isaac said.

The health official urged those responsible in the national government to provide equipment and supply quarantine facilities.

On 27 March, authorities placed northern Upper Nile in lockdown after hundreds of people escaped from a quarantine centre in Renk town.

South Sudan, which has registered one case of COVID-19, is stepping up efforts to prevent the spread of the new pandemic.