WALVIS BAY – The military field hospital that was deployed to Walvis Bay a couple of months ago will be redeployed to Windhoek to assist with the isolation of Covid-19 patients. 
Windhoek has seen a significant rise in Covid-19 cases and is now the virus epicentre. 
Erongo governor Neville Andre on Friday indicated the facility that has been at Walvis Bay for the past two months has been empty for the first time since its arrival at the town for the whole of last week. 

This, according to Andre, is a positive development for the town of Walvis Bay, which has been reporting lesser cases for weeks now. 
“The military hospital started at full capacity with 42 patients since its establishment in July 2020. However, it has been empty for the past week. This is a very encouraging and positive development indeed,” Andre said. 
He explained this was one of the main reasons the Erongo Covid-19 team offered to transfer the facility to Windhoek to assist the Khomas region in its response to the pandemic. 

The facility was instrumental in treating more than 300 Covid-19 patients since its deployment in July and also brought much-needed relief to the public health sector that faced challenges with isolation facilities at the town. 
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the security cluster for availing this treatment facility that greatly relieved the pressure on existing state public health facilities. It also gives me great pride to share with you that in our successful smart partnership with the private medical sector in the Erongo region, the Welwitschia hospital has established a 40-bed tented facility on their premises to increase treatment capacity in Walvis Bay. This temporary structure is complementing the government’s capacity and resources with regard to our national and regional response; hence, the military facility can do more for the Khomas region in the response to Covid-19,” he said. 

Meanwhile, health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula yesterday said the curve looks encouraging after the country recorded 125 new positive cases of Covid-19, bringing the cumulative confirmed tally to 8 810. 
“Our highest number was recorded on 23 August, which was 316. This should really motivate us to abide by the measures as advised,” said Shangula, who also announced 20 recoveries and two deaths related to Covid-19. 
The total recoveries are now 3 806, while active cases stand at 4 913. 
The virus has claimed 91 lives to date. -  edeklerk@nepc.com.na