This archive report was first published on 10 May 2020.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir has been criticised for easing restrictions meant to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, despite the country recording 30 new cases on Friday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 120.
On Friday, May 8, 2020, the country recorded 30 Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases to 120. This comes as President Kiir eased restrictions on businesses, including bars, restaurants, and boda boda, allowing them to reopen.
The president's decision has been met with criticism from various stakeholders, including the South Sudan Doctors' Union, which said the move was ill-timed and would hurt millions of residents.
“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.
Dr Thuou Loi, the national Health ministry's spokesman, also expressed concerns about the decision, saying that South Sudan would likely have a full-blown Covid-19 outbreak, given the disconnect between the technical team and the High-Level Taskforce on coronavirus.
Dr Loi advised that there is need to continue restrictions, continue testing people leaving Juba and those coming in country from Covid-19 affected countries so that we prevent the importation of more coronavirus cases.
Other critics, including Jame Kolok, the executive director for Foundation for Democracy and Accountable Governance, said the move to relax restrictions is political and was made without consulting health experts.
Mr Kolok warned that going by the rate of infections in South Sudan and the easing of restrictions, South Sudan could soon have the highest coronavirus cases in the East African region.
