COVID-19 Cases in Namibia
# IDENTIFIED INFECTED: 23
# ACTIVE: 9
# DECEASED: 0
# RECOVERED: 14
# TESTED: 3,412

On Tuesday, 2 June 2020, Namibia is taking another step towards a new normal. This was announced by President Hage Geingob at a press conference yesterday afternoon. In the night from Monday to Tuesday stage 2 of the exit plan will end and stage 3 will beginn. This applies to all of Namibia with the exception of Walvis Bay.

Restaurants and cafés are allowed to open again, but may only serve guests who have booked in advance. Bars and shebeens, on the other hand, are only allowed to sell alcohol to take away – like liquor stores (bottle stores). Cinemas, theaters, museums, sports and fitness clubs, handicraft centers and other facilities with a broader audience can also start operating again on condition of special hygiene and restricted number of people.

Borders open from July

Stage 3 is to last until 29 June, corresponding to two incubation periods of the COVID-19 virus. Level 4, scheduled to start on 30 June, involves opening the borders and resuming international flights.

Unfortunately it is not yet clear when commercial airlines such as Lufthansa / Eurowings, KLM, Qatar Airways and Ethiopian Airlines will fly to Windhoek again. So far some of them only included Johannesburg in their new flight schedules. Air Namibia could be the first airline to fly tourists from Europe to Namibia again.

However, there are still some obstacles: European countries hold on to their travel warnings for long-haul destinations. In addition, Namibia is currently still stipulating a 14-day quarantine for travellers entering the country after opening of the borders.

Walvis Bay back in lockdown

In Walvis Bay the restrictions will not be relaxed. According to President Geingob, the port city returns to stage 1, that is lockdown. However, it will only last until Monday 8 June. In Walvis Bay a truck driver had violated the regulations of quarantine after his return from South Africa and later tested positive.

The number of confirmed cases of infection with SARS-CoV-2 in Namibia increased to 23. Minister of Health and Social Services, Kalumbi Shangula, announced two new cases on Wednesday and today. Case 22 is a 63-year-old seaman who returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He fell seriously ill and has to receive artificial ventilation in a hospital.

Case 23 is a 38-year-old Namibian woman who experienced COVID-19 symptoms in Tanzania in April but had not been tested. This apparently only became known after her return to Namibia in May – through a post on her Facebook page. The test result, received yesterday, was positive.