Juba residents welcome lifting lockdown

By Maria John.

Many South Sudanese people in the capital Juba are welcoming the lifting of a lockdown the government imposed to try and control the spread of COVID-19.

This week, South Sudan’s government announced it was lifting the shutdown it imposed in February this year.

South Sudan’s government says it made the decision because the number of people getting infected by the coronavirus in the country is reducing.

It says by the time it imposed a lockdown in February, it was recording more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 daily but that, the number is now below 20 people in a day.

Many in the capital Juba are welcoming the news of the end of the lockdown.

Ring Peter, a Juba Resident said, “the lockdown has been for long whereby some of us lost our jobs like those who are in school, like girls, some of them got pregnant because of lockdown so if the government didn’t lift the lockdown then most of the girls would spoil their future.”

Another Juba resident, Deng Manyuan Deng said, “many people survive in the market, most of these people, once they are out that’s when they get their daily bread, like I am outside, I am right now, I am looking for what I can survive on, at the same time, the vaccine is already out.”

James Ladu says he is more happy to take protective measures against covid-19 and be free than to be under lockdown

South Sudan launched a vaccination campaign on the 6th of this month, but so far it is only vaccinating medical personnel.

Health care workers are advising that residents should continue to observe protective measures against COVID-19

DR. Bolis Simon, who manages MED BLUE laboratory said.”The simple things that we always appeal or encourage people to do are like washing hands, wearing face-masks, these are things that affect the whole community, not only you.”

The government is warning that if the number of cases of COVID-19 rises again then it might go for another lockdown.