Albertina Nakale

Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula has appealed to Namibians to adhere to the partial lockdown as well as regulations imposed by government to fight Covid-19. Shangula yesterday encouraged individuals to take responsibility for measures, such as regular hygiene practises, self-isolation and social distancing. 

Shangula also announced yesterday that the number of Namibian infections has gone up to 16 after a teacher and medical doctor tested positive to the novel coronavirus. Shangula explained that case number 15 is a 31-year old Namibian male who had close contact with a friend from South Africa on 26 March.  

“The friend had since returned to South Africa. This contact reported at Robert Mugabe Clinic on 30 March 2020, with complains of cough, body pain, sore throat, and shortness of breath. He was tested and the results came out positive on 4 April 2020. He is a teacher by profession. He has been isolated. His condition is satisfactory,” Shangula said. 
Equally, he said, case number 16 is a 46-year-old medical practitioner who had travelled to South Africa. He too presented himself at Robert Mugabe Clinic on 30 March with complaints of fever, chill, body pain, and sore throat. Shangula said the specimen was taken and the test came out positive on 4 April 2020. He is in isolation and his condition is also said to be satisfactory.  “I take this opportunity to commend our medical professionals for their dedication and hard work. They are literally, the tip of the spear in this war against an invisible enemy. They are serving this nation, detecting, treating and caring for the Covid-19 patients. As I stated a few days ago, we continue to draw samples from suspected individuals in order to determine whether they are infected or not,” Shangula maintained. 
To date, he noted, the number of suspected Covid-19 samples taken in Namibia and submitted to laboratories in Namibia and South Africa for testing stands at 362. Of these, 206 were submitted to the Namibia Institute of Pathology (NIP) and 156 were submitted to PathCare, which in turn sends the samples to South Africa for testing. 
-anakale@nepc.com.na