Hon. Tong Akeen Ngor, the governor of Northern Bahr el Ghazal during the 5th governors' forum in Juba - credit | Charles Wote/Eye Radio | Nov. 26, 2021

The governor of Northern Bahr el Ghazal has announced mandatory coronavirus vaccination for people in the state.

Governor Tong Akeen Ngor made the statement while addressing a congregation at St. George Parish of the Catholic Church in Aweil over the weekend.

He also ordered people of Northern Bahr El Ghazal to wear face masks in public places in the state.

Governor Tong says his decision is in line with the recent directive by the National Taskforce on Covid-19 pandemic.

He then tasked the state line institutions to implement the directives with immediate effect.

“This sickness will not tolerate you or someone else, you can’t  know if you are sick, but you will have flu, cough and fatigue in your body and also symptoms you cannot understand and think it’s normal malaria or headache and at the same, you’re sick,” Governor Tong said.

“We are going to make vaccination mandatory for all people in the state, we are going to start with governmental institutions.

“We will go to all institutions and schools and churches and mosques and all the directions, we have J&J vaccine coming, if you’re vaccinated the sickness will not be heavy in your body.”

Last week, the Ministry of Health confirmed 82 new cases of coronavirus.

This raised South Sudan’s cumulative tally to 14,843 cases.

One person is reportedly in severe condition at the Intensive Diagnosis Unit in Juba.

The public is advised to strictly continue adhering to the social distancing and other anti-coronavirus measures as the number of cases and new variants continue to surge globally.

In South Sudan, you can report any suspected cases of the virus to the nearest health Center or call the toll free number: 6-6-6-6.