FILE PHOTO: A logo is pictured outside a building of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, 6 Feb. 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

The World Health Organization has again emphasized the importance of isolating and quarantining people who have tested positive for the coronavirus to stop the spread of the virus.

Researchers say the average incubation period for the coronavirus is about five days.

They say the 14-day quarantine period being used by most health authorities across the globe is “appropriate”.

South Sudan has got one center, the Public Health Laboratory, used by the government for screening suspected cases of coronavirus.

The 24-bed Infectious Diseases Unit was established in December 2018 as part of the national emergency preparedness and response efforts.

Last month, several cases were detected in the residential areas in Juba due to lack of health care facilities, a practice which has been criticized by the Doctor’s Union.

The Ministry of Health admitted that South Sudan lacks established facilities to quarantine arrivals for 14 days in Juba.

“People confirmed to have COVID-19 should be isolated and cared for in a health facility and their contacts should be quarantined,” Dr. Tedros Adhanhom, director-general of the World Health Organization, said in Geneva at the weekend.

The only one designated quarantine facility with the 24 bed is being upgraded to a 100-bed facility.

There are concerns that more patients are living within the communities.

Some of those who were quarantined last month threatened to leave the government’s isolation center due to lack of some necessities.

But the World Health Organization says placing people under quarantine keeps them away from others so they don’t unknowingly spread the disease.

Contact tracing remains an essential element of the response. Starting tomorrow, @WHO is convening an online consultation on #COVID19 contact tracing, to share technical and operational experience and innovations in digital technology. https://t.co/VecvIKhuXs pic.twitter.com/IXxvHF9TgU

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) June 8, 2020

Dr. Adhanhom called on health authorities to invest in isolation wards and enhance their quarantine facilities for people who have tested positive for the coronavirus.

The World Health Organization is also advising that health workers use medical masks and other protective equipment when dealing with suspected or confirmed coronavirus patients.

In areas with the widespread transmission, the institution says medical masks should be used for all people working in clinical areas of a health facility, not only workers dealing with the pandemic.

“WHO continues to advise that people caring for an infected person at home should wear a medical mask while they are in the same room as the sick person,” he stated.