Feb, 19th 2021 – Twenty-seven members of the South Sudan presidential staff have contracted Covid-19.
A presidential aide said, those affected are mainly junior staff and members of the presidential security team.
However, according to the president’s spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny, President Salva Kiir has not contracted the virus. “The President didn’t contract Covid-19. He is healthy and he has been at work since the rumours emerged. However, the President has been working at home as a precautionary measure after many of us contracted the virus,” Ateny said.
Ateny added, “The number has increased. Many officials tested positive for Covid-19. There are a few junior staff that contracted the virus. Senior staff that tested positive for the virus include policy analyst Madut Majok and me. We are all healthy and quarantining as recommended by World Health Organization.”
He further said that all State House staff in the capital, Juba, will undergo a second round of testing as a precaution.
Two cabinet ministers and a presidential adviser will also have a second test
The South Sudan National Taskforce on Covid-19 earlier this month re-introduced a partial lockdown amid a surge in the country.
South Sudan recorded 193 cases last week bringing the total to 6,277 confirmed cases, 83 deaths and 3,829 recoveries since the virus broke out.