Coronavirus: Torit Lacks Capacity To Quarantine Suspects
By Daniel Garang Deng
TORIT, SOUTH SUDAN APRIL 23, 2020: Health officials in Torit, the Eastern Equatoria state capital, say the town does not have the capacity to quarantine and isolate people who come into contact with COVID-19 patients. The state has 1 confirmed case.
The head of the state’s Coronavirus Taskforce says contacts of the coronavirus patient are being quarantined in their homes for 14-days.
The state officials say at least 16 people came into contact with the confirmed coronavirus patient in Torit and all 16 were asked to self-quarantine because the state does not have isolation facilities to house people for 14 days. Which is the incubation period before contacts are present with the coronavirus signs and symptoms.
Dr. Elijo Omoro, chairperson of Eastern Equatoria State Coronavirus Emergency Taskforce and director general of the now defunct Torit state health ministry, says a ward has been set up at Torit state hospital for Covid-19 patients.
“At the moment we don’t have an isolation or a quarantine area where we could actually keep suspects. What we have is an isolation facility which is within the hospital but this is where we keep people whom we think are sick or whom we strongly suspect have contracted COVID-19.” Dr. Omoro told The Insider.
He says later if contacts test positive and have trouble breathing they can be transferred to an isolation ward established at Torit state hospital for intensive care.
Dr. John Isaac Nartisio, medical director of Torit Teaching Hospital says the isolation ward should be sufficient to handle COVID-19 patients.
“The capacity of the ward used to be 24 when we were using it to admit malnourished children but now the capacity has been reduced to 12 beds. We have two wings there.” Nartisio said.
He said the isolation unit is identified to handle only confirmed cases with respiratory distress.
“Cases that are supposed to be quarantined currently the taskforce recommends that people who come from suspected countries [and] people who are suspected [should] quarantine at their homes. Where you live you quarantine yourself there and our team from the surveillance subcommittee will be the ones to monitor your condition.” He adds.
Dr. Nartisio says people should realize Covid-19 is a dangerous disease and follow preventive measures.
“They should avoid staying in groups, they should avoid congestion, if possible they should make sure they stay at home, keep children at home, when they visit they should not greeting [and] hugging each other.” The doctor advises.
Civil society activists want the state to install quarantine wards in Torit state hospital. Charles Okulu, who chairs the Eastern Equatoria Civil Society Network, says the government should also set up isolation wards and send more testing kits to border points like Nimule border with Uganda, Nadapal town near the Kenyan border, Buma and Pochala towns bordering Ethiopia.
“There should be those isolation wards in all border points to allow them [covid-19 suspects] all that duration given by the health officials so that they are determined whether they have covid-19 or not. And this is already being crippled because there are no governors in the states.” Okulu said.
He says lack of leaders in the state contributes to the problem because the government does not work at its full capacity right now.
President Salva Kiir appointed ministers in February but no governors have been appointed to the newly aligned 10 states.
Ojok Francis, Eastern Equatoria state coordinator for the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization says people must do more to stop the spread of coronavirus.
“Our social cohesion and cultural complexity is very unique. All those preventive guidelines that have been given are very difficult to control our social cohesion.”
“Our communities are still living together sharing many things. People are still organizing celebrations, people are dancing, [and] people are still greeting themselves which is very difficult to control.” Okulu told the Insider.
South Sudan has now confirmed five cases in Juba and Torit, with more than 100 contacts of COVID-19 patients in quarantine at their homes.
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