ONGWEDIVA – With the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Oshana, regional health director Johanna Haimene said they are working on a plan to increase the number of isolation beds.
Currently the region only has about 130 beds available to cater for patients testing positive for Covid-19.
The region had by Saturday recorded 78 positive confirmed cases.
The health director said Covid-19 positive patients are being isolated at facilities within and outside the Oshakati Intermediate Hospital. She said for now, the region is still coping, but the situation could become different if cases keep increasing.
“No, the capacity will never be enough, but we are coping with what we have available for now,” Haimene said.
In addition to the available beds, Haimene said the region also has less than 10 ventilation machines. At present, the health director asserted that there are no critically ill patients in the region. The health director appealed to the people in the region to adhere to the regulations in place in order to reduce and curb the further spread of the virus. She said information on preventative measures have been shared widely and does not believe that there are still people who are lagging behind.
Haimene said those who do not comply are simply ignorant. The directorate of health’s surveillance officer in Oshana, Teophilus Nantinda, in an earlier interview with New Era said a further temporary ward was also under renovation to cater for Covid-19 patients.
Nantinda during the same interview also lamented that some of the people asked to self-isolate are violating the regulations, citing that the team has been indebted with reports of such people coming out in public.
– nashipala@nepc.com.na