Police in Renk town of Upper Nile State on Wednesday released 23 youth arrested for organising a daytime party in defiance of the recent ban on all forms of social gatherings.

The group was arrested on Tuesday.

Brig. Gen. Abdel-Aziz Deng Ngor, the deputy police commissioner in Renk, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that police arrested the 23 youth as part of efforts to implement health directives against social gatherings.

He said the police released the group of youth after consultations were made with members of the supervisory committee for the defunct Northern Upper Nile state.

The police officer urged parents to follow their children’s behaviours to prevent families from contracting the novel coronavirus.

The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in South Sudan reached 994 with health experts raising concerns that the poor healthcare system in the country could cause havoc.