President Salva Kiir addresses guests at the luncheon at presidential palace in Juba on Sunday, Aug 9, 2020 | Credit | Presidential Press Unit

President Salva Kiir has told religious leaders that his government is considering reopening houses of worship in the country.

The president made the remarks during a luncheon organized by First Lady Mary Ayen at the presidential palace in Juba yesterday.

The guests included senior government officials, religious leaders and constitutional post holders.

Some religious leaders had been complaining about the ban, especially after a ban on bars and night clubs was lifted recently.

“I am always in attendance with comrade Wani; we always go to Kator. Your Grace, be assured that we will resume our prayers in the church,” Kiir said.

Social gatherings including sporting events, religious events, weddings and political activities have been closed since mid-March, as part of measures taken by the authorities to stem the spread of the pandemic.

Public Negligence towards the Pandemic

Meanwhile, health authorities have raised concerns over a growing public negligence towards coronavirus directives.

Reinforced by the president, the World Health Organization advises everyone to observe the rules, including social distancing, hand washing with clean water and soap, and wearing of mask in public places.

However, the spokesperson at the ministry of health says people have resumed daily routines, but do not wear masks and never practice social distancing.

Dr. Thou Loi warns that such behaviors could lead to increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the country.

“The general public seems to be relaxed – normal activities are back, people are crowding, there is no social distancing, and people are not wearing masks. We simply do not know what is happening with the virus,” Dr Loi told SSBC on Sunday.

“The fact that our lab is testing less positive cases also goes with the fact that we are testing less samples  and so the public should be mindful that we need to consistently adhere to those preventive measures.”

So far, South Sudan has 2,472 cumulative number of confirmed cases, 1,264 recoveries and 47 deaths out of 15,393 tests performed.