The coronavirus pandemic has killed 60 people since its outbreak in South Sudan in May this year, data processed by The City Review Coronavirus Tracker reveals.
As citizens appear to have abandoned or even forgotten about the virus by neglecting safety guidelines, the pandemic has infected a total of 3,047 people countrywide.
Health commentators warn the statistics could be higher as the current figures may be underestimated due to the government’s incapacitation to carry out mass testing.
The African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention blames the second wave of the outbreak on poor behavioural change as people continue to ignore safety measures and continue to hold mass gatherings.
An assessment by the International Monetary Fund indicates that the pandemic had not only negatively impacted health but also the country’s economy.
“People in South Sudan have suffered illness and death from the pandemic, although the toll is difficult to fully assess, given limited testing capacity.
“Beyond the impact on health, South Sudan has also been hit hard by the sharp decline in oil prices during the pandemic,” IMF says in its most recent report.
The coronavirus data has not been made available to the citizens since the cases began to surge in June.
For South Sudan, data on the state of the pandemic is sent to the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which forwards the data to the African Press Organization for wide circulation.