Coronavirus: UN On The Spot After Worker Escaped From Isolation
A Dec 22, 2013 New York Times photo. In this photo released by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, non-critical United Nations staff were relocated on Sunday from Juba, South Sudan, to Entebbe, Uganda.Credit…Irene Scott/United Nations Mission in South Sudan, via Associated Press.
JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN: War-torn South Sudan has a total of 34 confirmed cases of the dreaded COVID-19 virus spread out in the country. The disease has been traced in cases in Juba and Torit town, Eastern Equatoria state.
However, the bone of contention lies in the United Nations, who came under serious scrutiny after one of their staff members who was in isolation was sneaked out of the country last week.
The incident spiked a bitter brawl on social media among residents,
considering all the initial four cases recorded in the country were traced to the humanitarian organization.
A United Nation staff member who was in isolation after he came into contact with a Coronavirus patient has fled the country, government and the UN Mission in South Sudan said.
This has forced the government to identify at least 99 contacts and subject them into mandatory quarantine where they are expected to spend the next 14 days as a preventive measure.
The country’s High-Level Task Force on Coronavirus said in a statement that it was dismayed that the contact secretly sneaked out of the country aboard a UN flight.
“This is in clear violation of the International Health Regulations (HR 2005),” the statement from the Taskforce on Coronavirus partly read.
The South Sudan government added it would hold the UN system in the country accountable for any seeming event that may ensue as a result of these actions.
However, the UN denied aiding their staff to leave the country and said it would take disciplinary actions against the staff member who failed to complete self-isolation and left South Sudan without authorization.
“He received one test that confirmed him as negative and then left Juba on a flight without the knowledge of the United Nations. The flight was commercial, not a United Nations flight.” A statement from the office of the UN Deputy special representative of the Secretary-General said.
“Any United Nations staff who fail to adhere to the requirements for testing and self-isolation will face disciplinary action.” The statement stated.
Since the South Sudan government linked the first COVID 19 case to the UN, there has been a sharp rise of cyber-bullying on social media targeting foreigners and UN staff in South Sudan.
So bad it is that President Salva Kiir warned residents against using hate speech or making racist and xenophobic remarks against UN staff and other foreigners working or residing in the country.
The trolling has pushed the UN to introduce tough measures to protect their staff including enforcing a complete lockdown in their camps, according to the United Nations Mission In South Sudan [UNMISS].
Foreigners working in the country have expressed concern over being targeted in the negative slurs.
Caroline Wanjui, a Kenyan businesswoman is a worried lady. The comments she has been noting on social media are directly blaming nonresidents for the shooting numbers in the war-torn country.
“When they start such xenophobic remarks we are not safe. I am worried about my life,”said Wanjui.
Tyson Otieno, a Kenyan operating a Barbershop In the capital Juba, is surprised the disease is bringing divisions in the world instead of uniting it.
” Different foreign communities living in South Sudan areas exposed to the same risks of contracting coronavirus as the nationals. The virus does not mind whether you are white or black, or whether you are from whatever country it affects all the human race.”
In an exclusive interview, UNMISS chief David Shearer expressed concern over the anti-UN remarks targeting particularly international UN staff, blaming them for bringing the virus into the country.
“They are pretty harsh comments. They didn’t do anything wrong. It is like catching a cold. They did not do anything deliberately on purpose.” he quipped.
His sentiments are echoed by President Kiir in a live broadcast at the state broadcaster SSBC.
“I must warn you that COVID19 can be brought into the country by anyone, including South Sudanese. I call upon you to exercise restraint and avoid hate speeches and xenophobic utterances against our guests and those who have come to provide services to us from other countries and organizations,” Kiir advised.
Doctor Makur Koryom, the undersecretary in South Sudan’s Health Ministry told reporters at a news conference that the county will not tolerate anti-UN comments or xenophobic attacks of any form on foreigners residing or working in the country.
“Targeting individuals of particular countries on the basis or assumptions that the virus is their disease is unacceptable.” Dr. Koryom cautioned adding that the government will punish those who engage in such utterances.
The UN Mission in South Sudan said on April 4th that South Sudan’s first coronavirus case was a 29-year old female UN staffer who entered South Sudan on February 28th from the Netherlands through Addis Ababa.
Shearer says there is a high probability that the first covid19 patient contracted the virus inside South Sudan given the 5 weeks incubation period it took to present the signs and symptoms of coronavirus.
“The first person who contracted the virus almost certainly contracted it inside Juba because she has been here for a very long time.”
Meanwhile, the UN staff have been subjected to strict measures.
This includes the freezing of all travel of staff into the country and anybody who came in a couple of weeks ago has gone into compulsory quarantine for 14 days. The UN has drastically reduced the number of people in their offices to enable them to observe the
social distancing rule.
“We have reduced the internal flights so that we don’t have people going to the states to minimize any risk of passing it on, “said Shearer
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