Nayrouz News Agency : The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Friday handed over a vehicle to the Covid-19 task force committee in Kodok, Upper Nile State. It will be used as an ambulance and will facilitate the movement of local health workers.

"This car will help us and our citizens in a big way. Without a vehicle, it has been difficult for us to manage emergency cases here,” said Olao Alwong, director general at the ministry of health in the now-defunct Fashoda State.

While no infections have been recorded in the Fashoda-Kodok area, its strategic location makes local authorities nervous about the future.

"We are near Malakal and they have cases of Covid-19. We also have many traders coming here from Sudan, so we are definitely at risk of exposure. What the task force is doing is to carry out awareness-raising sessions, with the assistance of local organisations, among our citizens. We have also been distributing face masks, but many people are still not complying with our guidelines,” Alwong said.

UNMISS said that it was trying by all means to support state-led efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19. The mission is stepping up to support the local communities to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Upper Nile State.

"We have started to produce face masks which have been distributed to the community and now we are taking this opportunity to hand over one of our vehicles to the local authorities to help prevent an outbreak of the virus,” said Generose Nzeyimana, a representative from the peacekeeping mission.