South Sudan Confirms 4 COVID-19 Cases

The Ministry of Health of South Sudan has reported a fourth case of COVID-19 in the country on Friday, 10 April 2020.

The patient is an adult and a contact of the first patient. The case is a local transmission, similar to the third patient. Health authorities are currently tracing the fourth patient’s contacts.

The third case of COVID-19 in South Sudan has been reported on Thursday, 9 April 2020. She is a 28-year-old non-South Sudanese woman who works for the United Nations (UN) in South Sudan. She had been in close contact with the first reported COVID-19 patient.

After confirming the third case, health authorities said a total of 65 people who have interacted with the patients had been traced.

Reported on on 5 April 2020, the first recorded patient is a 29-year-old woman arrived in South Sudan from Netherlands via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 28 February. Reported on on 7 April, the second patient is a 53-year-old woman who flew in from Kenya last month.

The patients are currently being treated in quarantine at the John Garang Infectious Disease Unit. No deaths have been reported yet.

Prior to reporting its first COVID-19 case, South Sudan had already declared a lockdown with a ban on international flights. In addition, prior to South Sudan reporting its first case, the US government has donated USD8 million to South Sudan to help prevent the coronavirus pandemic from reaching the country.

The government has been urging all residents to adhere to the guidelines in preventing the spread of COVID-19, in addition to observing high standards of hygiene and avoiding human contact.

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