The current parliament building in Juba | Credit | Eye Radio

All lawmakers at the national legislative assembly are expected to enroll for a voluntary COVID-19 testing exercise within this week.

This is according to Hon. Paul Yoane – the head of the Information Committee at the august house.

This comes after coronavirus hit the executive arm of the government, with First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar and Information Minister Michael Makuei reported to have tested positive on Monday.

Hon. Yoane, says the virus is within the community and might have spread to the legislature as well.

“We actually suggested to the office of the Rt. Hon speaker to write an official letter to the High-Level Taskforce so that a team is sent to the parliament to come and test,” Yoane told Eye Radio on Wednesday.

“I don’t want to call it a compulsory test but the test will help the statuses of honorable members to be known because MPs are individuals who interact with members of the community in different aspects.”

South Sudan has so far confirmed 347 cases of coronavirus, with 6 deaths.

There are now more than 90,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the continent, with a number of African countries imposing a range of prevention and containment measures against the spread of the pandemic.

According to the latest data by the “John Hopkins University” and Africa Center for Disease Control on COVID-19 in Africa, the breakdown remains fluid as countries confirm cases, the last being Lesotho.