South Sudan lawmakers reject mandatory COVID-19 testing
South Sudan opening its Transitional Legislative National Assembly in 2019(Photo credit: unknown)
May 21, 2020 (SSNN) – Members of South Sudan’s Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) in the capital Juba have rejected an order this week from the presidency that all lawmakers take mandatory coronavirus test, sources have said from Juba.
“This thing (COVID-19 test) shouldn’t be mandatory. It is individual person to determine whether that person need to test or not,” one lawmaker told South Sudan News Now (SSNN) from Juba this evening.
Another lawmaker said several other colleagues have protested the decision which was introduced by the speaker of the parliament after orders from the office of president Salva Kiir and wonders where in the world people are being forced to test.
“Where in the world people are forced to test for any disease?” the lawmaker asked.
“For me and some who are many, we are not going to test,” the angry lawmaker said.
The decision for a mandatory testing for lawmakers was ordered by the president two days ago as members of the high-level taskforce on COVID-19 led by the First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, tested positive for the virus
All the members of the taskforce with the exception of the minister of health have been infected by the virus.
Dr. Machar, information minister Michael Makuei Lueth and Defense Minister Angelina Teny have all came out to publicly announce that they have the virus.
South Sudan have seen rise in coronavirus cases in recent days after president Salva Kiir Mayardit decided to lift restrictions imposed by his administration to curb the spread of the disease.
There were 490 coronavirus cases in South Sudan as of May 20,2020 after the country’s ministry of health announced that 143 more people have been infected with coronavirus including senior government officials.
South Sudan doctors and other health practitioners went on strike yesterday as they have not been paid by the government for at least four months; however, they later compromised and resumed work.
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