The number of Corona infections continues to rise sharply, but the infected only have to be hospitalised in a few cases. There have also been hardly more deaths so far.
This how President Hage Geingob and Health Minister Kalumbi Shangula outlined the situation in view of the spread of the new Omicron variant at their COVID-19 briefing yesterday afternoon in the State House in Windhoek.
There is currently no reason to drastically tighten the measures. Government is watching the situation closely and will react immediately to alarming developments.
72 hours instead of 7 days
The measures will only be changed slightly. The new regulations apply from December 16 (0:00):
• Upon arrival, the negative PCR test must not be older than 72 hours, calculated from swabbing. So far, the maximum age is 7 days.
• Persons entering Namibia can be randomly subjected to a PCR test. If it turns out positive, the person must go into quarantine at his or her own expense.
• A maximum of 200 people are allowed to take part in gatherings instead of the previous 500.
Appeal to personal responsibility
Another curfew or even a lockdown was not considered at this point in time. Instead, Geingob and Shangula once again appealed to the Namibians to take responsibility for themselves: wear a mask, keep your distance, observe hygiene rules. They also called for vaccinations and boosters again.
The regulations apply until 15 January until further notice.
Corona Situation in Namibia and countries worldwide
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/namibia/