By NewsDesk, with Agency reports
The South Sudan Government has disclosed that no fewer than ten cabinet ministers have tested positive, alongside several bodyguards and staff, to the global pandemic.
It explained that the ministers’ positive result came after coming into contact with members of the nation’s COVID-19 task force who had earlier tested positive for the viral infection.
This is coming days after first Vice-President, Riek Machar, announced he had tested positive alongside his wife, Defence Minister Angelina Teny.
The Information Minister, Michael Makuei, said with the development, all former members of the high-level task force on coronavirus, except the Minister for Health, have tested positive for the deadly respiratory disease.
This is as he also debunked reports circulating on various media platforms that President Salva Kiir, who was also a member of the team had tested positive.
According to him, all the infected ministers have been moved to several isolation facilities, while they have begun their treatment protocols for the deadly infection.
The North African country has seen a sharp rise in Coronavirus cases in recent days with 481 confirmed cases and six deaths.
There are fears the virus could cause havoc in South Sudan, whose healthcare system is barely functioning following decades of conflict, while hundreds of thousands are living in camps for displaced people.
