RUNDU - The police in Kavango East has beefed up border enforcement to prevent a potential Covid-19 outbreak from illegal immigrants entering the country. Two boats are being used to patrol the Namibia-Angola border along the Okavango River. “We are doing daily river patrols, mainly to sensitise our communities along the river about the issues of Covid-19, just to teach our communities that this virus is real and the issue of cross border activities or just crossing at ungazzetted points is illegal,’’ said Deputy Commissioner Robert Sanjahi. He noted that Namibia and Angola have closed their borders which means there is no movement that should happen between the two countries. “But there are issues of essential services, some Angolans do receive medical treatment from here, and that government have made arrangements that nurses from both sides of the river meet at the border and our nurses give medication to the nurses from the other side to give to Angolan patients with chronic ailments who were being treated on the Namibian side before the pandemic,” he added. According to Sanjahi, patients do not have to cross to the Namibian side of the river, unless for emergencies. “Angolans are not allowed to cross the river or border to our side but there are other emergencies that are life threatening and this will be taken care of by health officials.” The police have also warned community members to remove their canoes from the river. “We are requesting traditional authorities to inform their communities to take them (canoes) out of the river until such a time that this Covid-19 pandemic has been declared otherwise. We will impound them during our patrols if they are not removed. -jmuyamba@nepc.com.na

My regional commander is sensitising the traditional authorities about this issues,” Sanjahi noted. -jmuyamba@nepc.com.na