Hospitals giving fake Covid-19 certificates to senior South Sudanese government officials will be closed, said the chairperson of the national task force on the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hussein Abdelbagi Akol said the documents had been issued to top officials to facilitate their travel abroad.

"From now onwards we are directing security agencies at the airport to monitor specifically the different VIP lounges to make sure that the Covid certificates are verified," he said.

This warning comes amid a comment by the press secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Mayiik Ayii that his boss tested positive for Covid-19 in Doha, Qatar.

The minister was a member of the advance team preparing for President Salva Kii'rs visit to that country.

However, it is still unclear whether Mayiik - who is now isolating in Doha - acquired a negative certificate from Juba prior to his trip to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and later to Doha.