File: Health workers during a physical TOT training on COVID-19 for frontline medical workers/ South Sudan Doctor's Union.

A member of a civil society group is appealing to the National Taskforce to establish a technical secretariat that will conduct day-to-day coronavirus response.

Fareed Musa said a sub-committee composing of only medical experts and the Undersecretary in the Ministry of Health should be established to adopt scientific measures of curbing the spread of the pandemic.

Early this month, most members of the former High-Level Taskforce on coronavirus contracted the virus -forcing them to self-quarantine.

Musa believes this can be avoided if only doctors are given the chance to lead the government’s response efforts.

“We should have a technical secretariat that does the technical work where the doctors sit, where the undersecretary of the Ministry of Health sits so that they give directions because the disease has a medical aspect,” Musa suggested.

He insisted that the current National Taskforce should only be charged with drafting and implementing policies as recommended by the doctors to safeguard the country.

“If something is missing like lack of enough quarantine facilities in the country, considering now that positive cases are being kept at home,  then that comes to the high-level taskforce as a political body to quickly put up a response,” he added.

The activist stressed that the response of the current taskforce is “not being done timely.”

South Sudan is now leading Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic after registering close to 1,000 cases yesterday.

The rate of infections accelerated after the Presidency lifted the lockdown by easing restrictions early this month.

President Salva Kiir and his Vice Presidents permitted the domestic and international flights, interstate travels, opening up businesses and bars, despite concerns from medical experts.

Since easing the restrictions, several high-ranking officials, including the First Vice President, Minister of Defense and the Minister of Information, among others have tested positive for the virus.

Both the South Sudan Doctors’ Union and several activists have continued to warn of the risks of a full-blown coronavirus outbreak if what they describe as a reckless decision is not reversed.

Fareed Musa Musa, who is a member of the Citizen Taskforce on Coronavirus reiterated calls for the government to restore the lockdown measures to control the spread of the coronavirus.

He said it is time for the government to reinstitute the measures recommended by the World Health Organization.

“I will suggest that let us have a total lockdown.”

He also appealed to the government to provide food assistance to those affected by the pandemic.

“It is not about those who have and those who do not have. It should be for everybody so that we can stay at home for 14 days or 21 days,” he concluded.