A medical expert has tied the country’s surge in COVID-19 infections to the December 2020 concert in which Tanzanian bongo star Diamond Platinumz entertained his South Sudanese fans.

Dr Philip Majok—who works at the Public Health Emergency Operation Centre —said at a Juba-based FM station Radio One that the country lost its grip on controlling the infections when such gatherings happened.

He said the crowd defied the health safety protocols hence propagating the spread of the virus.

‘‘We need to avoid social gatherings such as weddings [and] recreational places like what happened when Diamond Platinum came. He is a great musician in the region although we missed out because we could not [attend] due to numbers of people,’’ he warned.

He urged parents to safeguard their family members from the infections. To this, he advised them to always take precautions by removing their clothes when they get home before taking a shower to interact with the children.

The country has continued to experience an increase in COVID-19 cases since the year began. For instance, in February alone, the lowest number the country ever posted was 88, with the highest number coming at 348.

The country’s infections in 2021 alone doubled the numbers posted in 2020.

Meanwhile, South Sudan’s COVID-19 cases have gone up by 248 cases in the past 24 hours, data from the COVID-19 Incident Manager Dr Richard Lako reveal.

This pushes the country’s cumulative caseload to 7,597 and the total cumulative tests already done so far now stands at 107,646. Three more people succumbed to the disease bringing the cumulative death toll to 90.

Total active cases are 3,400 and 4,107 have so far recovered from the virus.

689 contacts are currently being followed up for testing and treatment. The country is currently under a partial lockdown which could be extended or review on March 3.