The Khomas police have confirmed that two truck drivers violated quarantine regulations after they snuck out of a mandatory quarantine facility and allegedly wandered around Goreangab and Hakahana this past weekend.
The truckers have since been apprehended and returned to the truck port quarantine facility.
“We got a report that a truck driver sneaked out of quarantine from the truck port near Bokomo and went home in Goreangab on Sunday. We got him after a day. With the help of the ministry of health officials, we took him back to the truck port,” Khomas regional commander Joseph Shikongo told New Era yesterday. He said contact tracing for this driver has since started. Furthermore, Shikongo said another truck driver also broke out of quarantine where he was kept at a truck port in Windhoek’s northern industry.
“He sneaked out and went to sleep at his girlfriend’s place in Hakahana location. When we got there, the driver was not there. He just slept there and went back to the truck port in the morning,” Shikongo noted.
He added the girlfriend and a brother he was in contact with have since been taken into a quarantine facility. Shikongo cautioned truck owners to take good care of their employees as many cite hunger and other challenges while quarantined at truck ports.
He also cautioned truck drivers that in the absence of these humanitarian aids, it doesn’t give them a ticket to sneak out of quarantine into the community. He warned that those who found violating quarantine regulations will be fined an amount of N$2 000 or face six months imprisonment.
“We won’t allow people to sneak out of quarantine because we are trying to avoid local transmission. So, people should desist from such acts,” he warned.
Last weekend, a Namibian truck driver tested positive for Covid-19. According to health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula, the driver had broken out of a quarantine facility and was subsequently fired by his employer. The driver who is currently in isolation at the Walvis Bay state hospital, has since denied that he skipped quarantine.
– anakale@nepc.com.na