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South Sudan VP and wife test positive for COVID-19

South Sudan Vice president Riek Machar, South Sudan’s former rebel leader and its first vice president tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday, this announcement was made by his office. In a statement, the office said Machar’s wife Angelina Tang, who also serves as defence minister also tested positive for coronavirus. According to the statement, the vice president will self-quarantine for two weeks. Some office workers and bodyguards also tested positive, it added. Machar “has issued a public statement declaring that he is found positive, and from today will self-quarantine in his residence for the next 14 days”, it said.

Dr Machar on Monday said that he and his wife, who is also the Defence minister, had contracted coronavirus after interacting with infected members of the High-Level Taskforce on Covid-19, a team drafted to help fight the pandemic. A statement from his office said a number of his staffers, including security guards, also contracted the virus, although their names were not immediately published.

“We are still awaiting other tests and hopefully tomorrow we will have the full list (of positive cases among the Taskforce),” Dr Machar told a televised news conference in Juba on Monday. “All our colleagues that have tested positive are in good health.” He added that he and his wife will quarantine in their home.

“A doctor may be visiting us until they tell us it is time to end the quarantine. All our colleagues will also be self-quarantining,” Dr Machar said. His spokesperson, James Gatdet Dak, said Dr Machar and Ms Teny are both asymptomatic but “feeling well and healthy.”