COVID-19 pandemic in South Sudan

On 14 March, South Sudan suspended flights to countries affected by coronavirus.[3] On 20 March, classes in all schools and universities were suspended until 19 April, and Vice President Hussein Abdelbagi ordered the suspension of sporting, social, political, and religious gatherings for 6 weeks.[4] This was followed on 25 March by a nighttime curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.[5][6] On 27 March, around 500 people in quarantine from Sudan escaped in Renk, leading to northern Upper Nile State being placed under lockdown for 14 days.[7] From 25 March, after the coronavirus reached Mali, to 5 April 2020, South Sudan was the largest country by area without any confirmed cases of COVID-19.

South Sudan has a population of 14 million people but only 4 ventilators.[5]

On 5 April, the first case of COVID-19 in the country was confirmed in a 29-year-old patient, a United Nations worker who arrived on 28 February from the Netherlands[5] via Ethiopia.[8] South Sudan thus became the 51st African country (out of 54) to confirm a case.[5] The patient was quarantined at a UN facility and contact tracing efforts were undertaken.

The second case of COVID-19 was confirmed on 7 April; the patient was another female United Nations worker, aged 53, who arrived from Nairobi on 23 March and self-quarantined.[9] The third case on 9 April was also a female United Nations worker who had been in contact with the first patient.[10]

On 9 April, the Ministry of General Education announced it was preparing a distance learning program for primary and secondary school students via radio and television.[11] On 13 April, South Sudan suspended flights and public transportation between the states and between Juba and the states.[12]

Unlike the first cases, the fifth and sixth cases on 23 and 25 April were confirmed to be South Sudanese nationals.[13]

After 28 people tested positive on 28 April, the curfew was extended to be from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., all restaurants were only allowed to be takeout, and all passenger boda bodas were banned.[14]

A total of 35 patients tested positive in April. All 35 were active cases at the end of the month.[15]

Although cases were still increasing, South Sudan began the process of reopening on 7 May. The curfew was decreased to 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., boda bodas were allowed to have one passenger and rickshaws two passengers, if both the driver and the passengers wore face masks, and shops were allowed to reopen with a maximum of five occupants at a time.[16] On 12 May, airports were reopened for local, regional, and international flights.[17]

On 14 May, South Sudan reported its first death from COVID-19.[18]

On 18 May, First Vice President Riek Machar announced he and his wife, Angelina Teny, had tested positive for the virus.[19] On 19 May 2020, Information Minister Michael Makue Loweth and all members of the nation's 15-member coronavirus task force tested positive for COVID-19.[20] Another Vice President, Hussein Abdelbagi, the head of the COVID-19 Task Force, tested positive on May 27.[21] Vice President James Wani Igga announced he had tested positive on May 30.[22]

There were 959 new cases in May, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 994. Ten persons died in May while six patients recovered, leaving 978 active cases at the end of the month.[23]

In June there were 1013 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2007. The death toll rose by 28 to 38. The number of recovered patients increased to 279, leaving 1690 active cases at the end of the month.[24]

Model-based simulations indicate that the 95% confidence interval for the time-varying reproduction number R _t was below 1.0 in June and July.[25]

Towards the middle of July, business owners in Aweil reported that the pandemic had caused food prices to rise and that the number of customers in restaurants had decreased.[26] On July 24, officials in Eastern Equatoria State reported an increase in the number of teenage pregnancies during the lockdown, which could lead to more school dropouts.[27]

There were 345 new cases in July, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2352. The death toll rose by eight to 46. The number of recovered patients increased to 1205, leaving 1101 active cases at the end of the month.[28]

There were 167 new cases in August, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2519. The death toll rose to 47. The number of active cases increased to 1190 at the end of the month, 8% more than at the end of July.[29]

The government reopened schools in September after six months of closure.[30] There were 185 new cases in September, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2704. The death toll rose to 49. The number of recovered patients increased to 1438, leaving 1217 active cases at the end of the month.[31]

There were 222 new cases in October, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2926. The death toll rose to 59. There were 1557 active cases at the end of the month.[32]

There were 183 new cases in November, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 3109. The death toll rose to 61. There were 94 active cases at the end of the month.[33]

There were 449 new cases in December, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 3558. The death toll rose to 63. The number of recovered patients increased to 3131, leaving 364 active cases at the end of the month.[34]

There were 403 new cases in January, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 3961. The death toll rose to 64. The number of recovered patients increased to 3613, leaving 284 active cases at the end of the month.[35]