Martin Endjala
President Hage Geingob has advised people during the 43rd Covid-19 public briefing today at State House, to make sensible judgements during the winter period when corona cases spike.
“I do however wish to draw your attention to what I can describe to be a relaxed and worrisome attitude to the wearing of face masks in public areas and large indoor settings”, Geingob emphasized, adding that the public is expected to apply sound personal judgment and is therefore required to wear face masks in all public areas.
He again pointed out that the first line of defence in the fight against COVID-19, is vaccination and then wearing of masks.
Geingob advices owners of business establishments to insist on the correct wearing of face masks as a condition of entry into their premises.
He said that no-one would want to return to the harrowing ordeal of restrictions, curfews and lockdowns, therefore, let collective efforts must be applied to forethought in order to spare afterthought.
“Remember, it is better to be safe than to be sorry,” Geingob warned.
The president emphasized that the country is at a crucial stage in the fight against the coronavirus, reminding the public that the winter months are upon us.
‘’This is the time when people tend to congregate more closely together indoors, to keep warm. Thus, this is a time that requires increased personal discipline and a heightened sense of precaution, so as to avert high transmission of the virus that can result in new infections and reinfections”.
The country has now recorded a cumulative total of 162,020 cases, since the 17 March 2020 Index Case, of which a total 1,034 remain actively infected. The total number of deaths now stand at 4,029, translating to 2.5 percent of cases.
The rate of infection has risen sharply over the last 29-day Observance Period, recording a three-fold increase in the weekly positivity rate, from 2.1 percent in the week commencing 11 April
2022 to 7.5 percent as at 11 May 2022.
Year-on-Year data comparisons further reveal that at this time last year 2021, the positivity rate in the country stood at 11.9 percent, at the onset of the Third Wave. The rise in new cases has been recorded predominantly in the towns of Windhoek, Rehoboth, Okahandja and Otjiwarongo, and is attributable primarily to cluster outbreaks in various Primary and Secondary schools and hostels.
Notably, an additional 11,300 people were fully vaccinated during the 29-day Observance Period, bringing the cumulative number of fully vaccinated persons in the country to 411,106 or 23 percent of the targeted population, of 70 percent.
Geingob lamented that as the country enters the winter months, a season of physical vulnerability, he is imploring all who are eligible to either get vaccinated or receive their booster shots.
Given these developments, the president reminded the public that, it is crucial that Namibians redouble their efforts to safeguard themselves, families, friends, colleagues and neighbours. “Therefore, let us remember and apply the basics – these are the weapons of our warfare, against this deadly and invisible enemy”, Geingob concluded.
