Staff Writer
Unallocated mass houses in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund could be turned into quarantine facilities amid rising COVID-19 cases and insufficient isolation centers.
“I have requested the Governor to investigate the feasibility of using the unallocated mass houses in Swakopumd and Walvis Bay to place people there. The Governor has reported that 60 mass houses are available at Walvis Bay and 100 at Swakopmund we will determine how to utilize those,” President Hage Geingob said. “Isolation of positive Covid-19 cases in terms of locations must be done in ways that do not introduce or increase harm to the community. This may include alternative isolation locations, including private facilities. The Ministry will build in a level of flexibility in the quarantine of contacts, including the locations of such quarantine facilities, in ways that do not introduce or increase harm to the community. This may include home-based quarantine, when safe conditions for such quarantine can be established and verified against a standardized checklist.”
This comes as the Erongo region; Walvis Bay particularly, has become the epicentre of the virus, recording the highest number of cases in the country. “With the exponential increase of cases at Walvis Bay, the three local authority areas, namely Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and Arandis will remain under Stage 3 for a period of 28 days from the 7th July 2020 until midnight on the 3rd August 2020,” the President determined.
“To minimize broader exposure to communities residing at the towns of Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and Arandis, travel into, out-of and between these three Local Authority Areas is not permitted and will be restricted only to the supply of essential and critical goods and services as defined in the Regulations.”
Geingob said the region was recording different types of transmission, in the different towns. “In Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, there is transmission of the virus within the community. At Swakopmund we are mitigating a cluster of cases where most cases have been locally transmitted and are linked to chains of transmission. In other parts of the country, we have thus far recorded sporadic cases which are cases that have been imported or locally acquired,” he said.
“Government is closely monitoring the unfolding situation in the country and the effectiveness of measures being implemented to combat the pandemic. The evidence before us reveals that Namibia is dealing with two very distinct Covid-19 situations. It is, therefore, necessary to apply rational and targeted interventions to respond effectively to both situations. The rising number of cases in Walvis Bay warrants additional containment measures to slow the rate of transmission and reduce the disease from spreading beyond the three Local Authority Areas.”
The President said any person leaving the Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and Arandis Local Authority Areas to any part of the country, apart from providers of critical goods and services will be quarantined for a period of 14 days at their own cost.“Drivers of trucks and other vehicles delivering critical and essential services travelling from Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and Arandis Local Authority Areas, will be quarantined as per existing modalities applicable to the quarantine of cross border truck drivers and providers of essential goods and services,” Geingob said.
