The National Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have confirmed the influx of the trending new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, in South Sudan.
“We have received an initial report from Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), the lab we send our samples to for genomic sequencing, and this most recent genomic sequencing interim report indicates that Omicron lineage is present in South Sudan,” COVID-19 incident manager, Doctor John Rumunu told the journalists yesterday, during the weekly COVID-19 press briefing in Juba at the Emergency Operation Centre.
According to Dr Rumunu, the Omicron seems to dominate the December 2021 samples that were sent to the Uganda Virus Research Institute.
“This is an initial report, we will give you the details as we get more particulars. “We have sent 81 samples and the preliminary statement indicates that most of the samples are indicating Omicron lineage, so we don’t have the number,” he revealed.
He explained that the ministry does not send all the samples that are tested positive based but selects a few samples.
Last year, in December, the national ministry of health trashed rumours that circulated on social media and some local media houses that the country had confirmed cases of COVID-19 Omicron variant.
Mabior Kiir, the Chief of Planning and Information for the Ministry of Health, clarified that the country was yet to determine whether the dreaded variant had found its way through the borders.
He said, “It is false information. South Sudan has not recorded [a case of] omicron (variant). We have our samples that were sent to Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) last week and the [results] are yet to be out so that information is kindly disregarded.
“We don’t need to encourage wrong information circulating in social media,” Kiir said.
He also cautioned that such pieces of information can only come from the Department of Planning and Information for Public Health Emergency Operation Centre, adding that any information not from their ranks is misleading.
Curbing the infections
In 2021, the Vice President of Service Cluster, Hussein Abdulbagi, who is the head of the National COVID-19 Taskforce announced a partial lockdown due to the cases of the virus’ surge in the country.
Abdelbagi stated that the initiative was timely given that the whole world is experiencing the fourth wave of the virus as had been announced by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The emergence of the Omicron variant had equally complicated the fight against the disease.
The Public Health Emergency Operation Centre (PHEOC) reported that the weekly COVID-19 cases per state show that Central Equatoria State has 678 cases and the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases now stands at 12,787.
The Eastern Equatoria state recorded 26 and the cumulative number is 671, Western Equatoria State had two confirmed cases with 203 as the cumulative number. Northern Bahr el Ghazal had one case and the cumulative number was 29. Western Bahr el Ghazal State had no new case and the cumulative number was 64. Lakes State recorded four cases, taking the cumulative number to 164.
Jonglei State had 26 cases and the cumulative number is 279 while Unity State had no new case and 222 as the cumulative number.
Upper Nile State also had no new case and had a cumulative number of 173, same as Warrap State which had no new infection and 12 as the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases.
Abeyi Administrative Area had three cases and recorded a cumulative number of 290 cases; Ruweng Administrative Area recorded 88 cases and had a cumulative number of 744 while Pibor Administrative Area had no new cases.