File: Hand washing has been highly recommended by WHO as one of the most effective measures to prevent coronavirus infection.

An official in the Ministry of Health has expressed concerns over the persistent denial of the existence of coronavirus by some members of the public.

Mary Obat, the Director of Health Education and Promotion in the Health Ministry says such belief should be discouraged.

She said over the weekend, there was an unreported case of Covid-19-related death in Juba.

Obat cited that a postmortem done on an unidentified pastor indicated he died of the coronavirus.

She said there is still a lot to be done in terms of awareness to the communities on the dangers of the disease.

“People, and even including pastors and people in our communities do not believe it is Covid-19 or that you need to go for a test or report,” Obat said.

“The last death over the weekend, the person who died I’m told is a pastor. He did not want to come for a test until he died.”

The latest death brings the death toll of Covid-19 in South Sudan to one hundred and eighteen.

According to the Ministry of Health, eleven more people tested positive for the virus yesterday.

Two of the confirmed cases are reportedly in critical condition receiving treatment at the Infectious Disease Unit.

The news cases were among 404 samples tested across the country.

“So how many people have been infected, how many people have died in the communities? So there is still a lot to do,” Mary Obat added.

Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Health has advised members of the public to adhere to the health protocols.

These include hand washing, social distancing and wearing of face mask.