COVID-19 pandemic in Namibia

On 14 March, Namibia reported its first cases of COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2.[12][13] They were a Romanian couple who arrived in Windhoek from Spain via Doha, Qatar, on 11 March. They had been screened on arrival at Hosea Kutako International Airport but showed no symptoms at that time.[12] The couple presented to a private health facility with flu-like symptoms in Klein Windhoek and was referred for testing. At that time, Namibia did not have the capacity to test for COVID-19, so tests had to be sent to South Africa. Their results came back on 14 March and were announced for the first time by the Minister of Health and Social Services.[12]

On 19 March, a third case was confirmed. A 61-year-old German citizen, who arrived in Namibia on 13 March, was tested and tested positive for COVID-19.

A graph showing the number of COVID-19 cases in Namibia for the month of March 2020. 14 March, the day the virus had reached Namibia, is shown as day 1.

On 23 March, the forth case was confirmed. It was a 19-year-old male citizen from London making it travel related (just as the previous 3 cases). The patient was quarantined and put in isolation.[14]

By 24 March 2020, the total number of cases reached six when two more cases were confirmed. A Namibian pilot, aged 44 and a student studying at University of Witwatersrand in South Africa tested positive during quarantine. Although the 21-year-old student tested negative upon his departure from South Africa, he was tested again in Namibia and put under mandatory quarantine as per the Emergency Response plan.[15]

On 29 March, 3 new travel-related cases were confirmed. 2 persons, a 35-year-old female and a 69-year-old male, travelled from South Africa and the other (33-year-old female) returned from Dubai. All were admitted to isolation facilities.[16]

By end March, the total number of cases had reached 11, with all new cases being travel-related.[17]

A graph showing the number of COVID-19 cases in Namibia for the month of April 2020. Day 19 represents the 1st of April; 19 days after the initial infection. Day 48 represents the 30th of April.

On 1 April, 2 new cases were confirmed - bringing the total to 13 cases.[18]

On 2 April, 14 total cases were registered.[19]

5 April 2020 brought about two new cases. 2 males - a 31-year-old student and a 46-year-old medical practitioner tested positive for the virus. Both their conditions were satisfactory.[20]

From 6 April 2020 to 20 May 2020, no new cases have been recorded and the total remained at 16 confirmed cases[21]

A graph showing the number of COVID-19 cases in Namibia for the month of May 2020. Day 49 represents the 1st of May; 49 days after the initial infection. Day 79 represents the 31st of May,

On 21 May, the Ministry of Health and Social Services announced 2 new confirmed cases. Both cases travelled from South Africa and did not show severe COVID-19 symptoms. Cases now stood at 18.[22]

1 case was registered on 22 May 2020 - 19 total cases. Like many of the other cases, he also arrived from South Africa.[23]

On 24 May, two new cases were confirmed in Walvis Bay. One sneaked out of quarantine, and the other one visited a public hospital.[24]

By 27 May, there were 22 cases, with all of the new infections acquired abroad and detected during quarantine.[25] Case number 22, the patient who is in critical condition, was detected on the 27th of May 2020.

On 31 May 2020, another positive case was announced - a 51-year-old who was on the same vessel as case number 22.[26] Cases stood at 24 total.

Cases rose to 25 on the 1st of June when a health care worker, who travelled to South Africa, came back and tested positive upon her arrival in quarantine. The Romanian couple, who were the first two cases in Namibia, has recovered 79 days after their initial diagnosis.[2]

4 new cases were registered on 6 June. This included 3 students who travelled together from South Africa and 1 case which is possibly not travel related as he got infected at a hospital.[27]

On 13 June 2020, Minister of Health and Social Services announced another positive case, bringing the total to 32 cases. The female, aged 31 years old, presented to a health facility with flu-like symptoms. She does not have a travel history.[28]

A total of 34 cases were registered on 16 June 2020 when 2 new cases were announced. One case is imported from South Africa and the other is a contact of case number 32.[29]

On 17 & 18 June 2020, a total of 5 new cases were registered which brought the total to 39 cases. Case number 35 is a male resident of Walvis Bay with no travel history, while case number 36 is a Malawian national who was quarantined on the 5th of June 2020. Both patients are in satisfactory condition.[30] Case number 37 is a male student from Walvis Bay who started showing signs of COVID-19 on the 12th of June. Case number 38 is a female student who studies in England who travelled back on the 4th of June 2020. She initially tested negative, but just before her release on the 17th of June 2020, she tested positive. Case number 39 is a female resident of Swakopmund with no travel history or contact with a confirmed case. All three these patients are in stable conditions in isolation units.[31]

The 19th of June brought about 6 new cases. The first was a 45-year-old male seafarer, a resident of Kuisebmond. He does not have any travel history and is not known to have contact with a confirmed case.[32] All 5 other cases originated from Walvis Bay and are as a result of a cluster transmission in a close setting. Those infected ranged from a 10-year-old female to a 40-year-old male. The latter 5 cases were all as a result of contact with case number 32, who was infected on 13 June 2020. All 5 were put in isolation once they were confirmed to have been in contact with a positive case.[33]

On 20 June, case number 46 was registered - a 31-year-old woman from South Africa. She was put into mandatory quarantine and tested positive during a routine test.[34]

On the 21st of June, a total of 9 new samples tested positive in 24 hours. 7 out of the 9 tested positive at Kuisebmond, Walvis Bay. Included in the 7 cases were a 2-year-old and a 51-year-old. 3 of those cases are family-related cases to case number 35.The other two cases were detected in quarantine when individuals from India and South Africa respectively tested positive while in isolation, making them travel-related.[35]

A graph showing the number of COVID-19 cases in Namibia for the month of June 2020. Day 80 represents the 1st of June; 80 days after the initial infection. Updated 25 June 2020.

8 new cases were announced on the 22nd of June 2020. 7 cases were detected in Walvis Bay; 5 alone from the township Kuisebmond. The other case was from Swakopmund as part of active case search.[36] 4 of these cases were contacts of case number 37, and 1 contact of case number 35. The other 3 were not known to have contact with a confirmed case and were picked up as part of active case search in the Erongo region.[37]

23 June: 9 new cases were registered. 8 were in Kuisebmond in Walvis Bay - two of those were contacts of case number 35 while the other 6 cases had no contact with a confirmed case. The last case was a truck driver from South Africa. [38][39]

4 imported cases were announced on 24 June. 3 of the cases originated from India, and the other from South Africa. All were in quarantine when they tested positive.[40]

26 new cases were registered on the 25th of June. 2 cases were from Swakopmund, including a 6-year-old male. 22 cases were from Walvis Bay, 15 of which had contact with a confirmed case and 7 persons who had no contact. The remaining two cases were detected in quarantine - they were from South Africa and India. Included in the 26 new cases were 17 females with ages ranging from 25 years old to 80 years old. 7 males tested positive with ages ranging from 39 years old to 56 years old.[41][42]

On the 26th of June, 19 new cases were announced. 18 were from Walvis Bay, where there is a cluster outbreak of COVID-19 while the last case was an Indian national (5 years old) who tested positive in quarantine. 12 cases from Walvis Bay were contacts of a confirmed case while 6 were not contacts. Eleven displayed symptoms at the time of their test.[43][44]

15 cases were confirmed on the 27th of June. All were from Walvis Bay. All presented with satisfactory conditions. 8 patients were not in contact with a confirmed case while 7 were direct contacts of confirmed cases. Included are 4 males and 11 females. Ages ranged from 8 years old to 64 years old.[45]

The total confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose to 183 cases on 28 June when a record 47 new cases were announced. All were from Walvis Bay. 28 were contacts of confirmed cases within Walvis Bay and 24 presented with COVID-19 related signs and symptoms at the time of swopping. Included were a 6-year-old male and an 82-year-old female. 30 out of 47 cases were females.[46][47]

29 June: 13 new cases were registered. 8 were from Walvis Bay, 3 from Hardap region, and one from Oshana and Zambezi regions each. By this time cases stood at 196 cases altogether.[48]

8 out of 14 regions are known to have COVID-19 positive patients. Updated 27 June 2020.[49]

A map showing cumulative COVID-19 cases by region. Updated 27 June 2020.

Cumulative figures during this period are not considered as re-infections occurred. At the beginning of April 2020, 3 recoveries, two of which were thought to be the first cases, were erroneously announced by the Ministry. "Though the two [Romanians] have recovered from all signs and symptoms they have not been cleared yet by their second test results".[50] This made the 2 recoveries obsolete and only one recovery was confirmed.[50] The Romanian couple, which formed part of the first 2 cases, tested positive and negative on different occasions throughout April and May and only fully recovered 79 days after their infection.[2] Their respective recoveries were registered, but then revoked as they tested positive again.

On the 16th of April, another recovery was announced.[51]

By 18 April, 3 new recoveries were announced.[52]

23 April marked another recovery.[53]

On 26 April, another recovery was announced.[54]

The 7th of May marked another recovery.[55] This marked the start of the period where no confirmed cases were registered for about 44 days.

On 9 May, the recovery of case number 10 was announced.[56]

On the 10th of May, case number 9 also fully recovered according to the Ministry of Health and Social Services.[57]

On the 14th of May, case number 13 fully recovered.[58]

Case number 7's recovery was announced on 15 May 2020.[59]

On 20 May, just before a spike in cases, the supposed recovery of case number 1 was announced.[60] Case number 1 tested positive after this again.

On the first of June, the final recovery of the Romanian couple (case number 1 & 2) was announced. This brought the recoveries to 16 - everyone infected before the "spike" in infections (i.e. 20 May) have recovered.[61]

Cumulative figures after this period are considered as no re-infections occurred. By 10 June, a total of 17 recoveries were registered.[62]

One new recovery - that of case number 28 - was announced on 16 June. The total at this stage was 18 recoveries.[63]

On the 17th of June 2020, case number 26 has recovered and was sent home. The total recoveries was 19.[64]

22 June 2020: 2 new recoveries were announced. They were case number 23 and 25. This brought the total recoveries to 21.

On the 26th of June 1 new recovery was announced - that of case number 31. At this stage, total number of recoveries rose to 22.

28 June: 2 new recoveries were registered. Case number 22 and 30 have recovered. Case number 22, the patient whose condition was severe, recovered. The total amount of patients recovered rose to 24 recoveries.[65]

In a first reaction on 14 March, when the first cases were confirmed, government suspended air travel to and from Qatar, Ethiopia and Germany for 30 days. Later, on the 18th of March 2020, all ports of entry were closed from highly affected countries (i.e. most Schenghen countries).[66] All public and private schools were closed for a month, and large gatherings were prohibited. This included celebrations for the 30th anniversary of Namibian independence that was to take place on 21 March.[67] Libraries, museums, and art galleries were also closed.[12]

On 17 March President Hage Geingob declared a state of emergency as a legal basis to restrict fundamental rights, e.g. to freely move and assemble, guaranteed by the Constitution. The prohibition of large gatherings was clarified to apply to 50 or more people.[68]

A COVID-19 communication hotline (0800100100) was established on the 15th of March 2020 which is run by the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the Centre for Disease Control of Namibia (CDC).[69] The hotline serves to answer general enquiries of the public, assisting persons seeking guidance from the Ministry and reporting possible symptoms or cases of COVID-19.[70]

The Government also announced on 18 March that it will strengthen their communication to the public via various platforms, such as the COVID-19 communication centre operated by NBC, in an attempt to "mitigate and refute misinformation, fear and panic especially from social media".[70] The centre was fully functional by middle April 2020.[71]

With the establishment of a multi-disciplinary Emergency Response team, the Ministry intensified their surveillance in monitoring the situation of COVID-19 in the country, especially at the borders of Namibia. The response team operates 24/7.[70]

Mandatory screening at all points of entry has become mandatory. All Namibians returning from high risk areas were to go under mandatory quarantine for 14 days; all costs are covered by the Government.[66]

As per the regulations of stage 1 and the proclamation of the State of Emergency, all schools, early development childhood centres and tertiary institutions should be closed, and attendance is prohibited. Schools are to reopen in a phased manner - necessitating the grades with higher priorities and workload (see below).

A class two military field hospital was established at the Hosea Kutako International Airport to deal with persons identified with possible symptoms and as a quarantine facility.[70]

The Central State Hospital, amongst others, also underwent renovations to its emergency rooms and ICU wards to allow it to operate in a COVID-19 environment.

Before the confirmation of COVID-19 in Namibia, tests could not be done locally. Instead, samples had to be sent to South Africa for testing, which accounted for longer than usual waiting times. Namibian Institute of Pathology (NIP) started testing locally in Windhoek at the end of March 2020. In late April, private laboratory PathCare started testing samples. Namibia was hit by a lack of reagents at the end of April, which slowed down testing. Private testing at PathCare is expensive (about N$ 850) compared to state (NIP) testing which is free to the patient.[72] At the end of April, 362 tests had been conducted, 206 by the Namibian government through the Namibian Institute of Pathology (NIP), and 156 by South African laboratories.[73]

An Emergency Income Grant was set up by government to distribute N$ 750 to every person that lost income or faces otherwise difficult conditions due to the lockdown.[74] Over 800,000 people applied for this grant. 346,000 of them were paid by the end of April.[75]

Beginning 27 March, a 21-day lockdown of the regions of Erongo and Khomas was announced as per regulations of stage 1 (see below).

This was the initial lockdown of the two main economic hubs; the "heart" of the Namibian economy.

On 14 April the lockdown was extended to 4 May. It now officially applied to all regions, although the stay-at-home order had already been enforced countrywide. Some of the lockdown conditions were amended, such that now fishing counted as essential service, and open markets as well as informal trade were allowed to operate.[74] Namibia moved into stage 2 on 5 May 2020.

The city of Walvis Bay was moved back to stage 1 on 28 May because two infected people came into contact with local people. The rest of the country entered stage 3 on 2 June 2020.[24] On 8 June the lockdown of Walvis Bay was extended to all of Erongo Region for 14 days[76] after a worrying spike in cases in the region - constituting a full lockdown. This lasted until the 23rd of June, were the whole region migrated to stage 3. The constituencies of Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and Arandis are excluded, although travel are allowed for emergency reasons only.

President Hage Geingob announced on 30 April the gradual reopening of the economy in various stages. Each stage will have an observance period of 28 days - twice the incubation period of COVID-19.

The addition of stage 5 was announced on 22 June 2020 by the President, Hage Geingob. This stage constitutes the "new normal" which will last until the end of the state of emergency.

Prior to the lapse of the lockdown a 4-stage strategy was developed to gradually ease restrictions:[75][78]

1. The lockdown itself is stage 1.
2. In stage 2 most businesses are allowed to operate again, and people are allowed to move around. Employees over 60 and those chronically sick are to work from home. In public a face mask is to be worn, and social distancing is still to be implemented. Gatherings of more than 10 people, contact sports, bars and gyms are not allowed, alcohol may not be sold, and international borders remain closed.
3. Stage 3 is envisaged to follow 28 days after stage 2, twice the incubation period of the virus. It will allow the reopening of schools and universities and a gradual opening of borders. Public gatherings of up to 20 people will be permitted.
4. Stage 4, again 28 days after stage 3, is planned as the full return to pre-pandemic regulations with the exception of large gatherings. Borders remain closed and health protocols remain in place. Public gatherings increase to 250+ people.
5. Stage 5 is the final stage where most restrictions are lifted or reviewed. This stage is intended to last until there is a vaccine for the virus.

Namibia moved into stage 2 on 5 May 2020. The city of Walvis Bay was moved back to stage 1 on 28 May because two infected people came into contact with local people. The rest of the country entered stage 3 on 2 June 2020.[24] On 8 June the lockdown of Walvis Bay was extended to all of Erongo Region for 14 days.[76]

The resumption of face-to-face teaching was phased in as follows:

• Grades 11 & 12: commence on 3 June 2020.
• Pre-primary to grade 3: commence on 6 July 2020.
• Grades 7-9: commence on 22 July 2020.
• Grades 4, 5, 6, 8, 10: commence 3 August 2020.

The academic year was extended to 18 December 2020 for all grades.

On 18 March 2020, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Social Services, received a donation of 1 000 diagnostic test kits from the Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yiming. This was to increase the testing capacity of COVID-19 in the country.[79]

On 28 March, Namibian bank Bank Windhoek donated 500 reagent- and swop testing kits.[80]

On 21 March 2020, the Ministry of Health received a monetary donation from the Rössing Uranium Limited company to help fight the spread of COVID-19 in Namibia. Incident Manager, Mrs. M. Kavezembi received N$ 200 000.00 on behalf of the Ministry.[81]

Old Mutual Namibia donated electronics worth N$ 998 030.46 to the Health Ministry "to facilitate the process of rapid case search, contact tracing and data management". The donation included 35 laptops and 37 tablets.[82]

The Indian community in Namibia, supported by High Commission of India in Windhoek, handed over a contribution of food packets and essential supplies for Namibian people severely affected by the COVID-19 lockdown. This was received towards the end of April 2020.[83]

On the 20th of April, the Health ministry received face masks and other personal protective equipment from the CDC country director, Dr. Eric Dziuban. It was intended for the staff operating at the Emergency Operations Centre.[84]

Sanlam Namibia (via its CEO, Tertius Steers) also donated face masks and a mobile van which would be used for "testing and screening in the fight against COVID-19".[85]

Dr. Charles Sagoe-Moses, WHO representative in Namibia, also donated face masks and testing kits.[86]

The Republic of Turkey donated to Namibia various equipment like surgical masks, N95 masks as well as medical overalls. According to the Health Ministry, "it has been very difficult ... to secure a desirable stock level of these essential supplies". The Ministry further said "the donation is appreciated indeed and will go a long way in addressing the shortfall".[82]

The President said on 22 June 2020 at a press conference that he is in contact with all neighbouring countries with regards to facilitating the gradual opening of borders.

On 2 June 2020, The President had a telephonic call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. President Geingob "expressed appreciation to Canada for the support during the liberation struggle and the principled positions leading to the implementation of Resolution 435." The President also shared concerns with regard to COVID-19 figures in Namibia and the reopening of the economy. Prime Minister Trudeau also pledged support to President Geingob on the issue of classification of Namibia as an upper middle-income country, informing that with "climate change, other countries, specifically those from the Caribbean also faced a similar challenge of classification as upper middle-income countries".[87]

In early April 2020, reports on social media originated stating that 5G is a direct cause of COVID-19. Namibia's mobile telecommunications monopoly, MTC, denied these claims in a statement saying that Namibia does not have 5G installed yet.[88]

Caused by ambiguous information from government,[89] a short wave of panic buying ensued in the last week of March in the Erongo Region and selected shops in Windhoek.[90] Several shops increased prices for hygiene products and fruits for private brewing. They are currently being investigated by the Namibian Competition Commission.[91]

Due to the lockdown, crime rates,[92] road accidents[93] and rape[94] decreased significantly. Hospitals reported fewer admissions due to alcohol-related violence but went "back to normal"[95] on the first day the alcohol sales ban was lifted again.

Many students expressed their concerns regarding the late reopening of schools. A change.org petition, labelled "Motion for schools to open earlier for grade 11s and 12s in Namibia" has gained over 2,500 signatures in an attempt to convince the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture[96] to open schools earlier.