Niël Terblanché
THE sudden increase in COVID-19 positive cases in Windhoek is only the tip of the iceberg as many more cases might still be hiding among the various communities that constitute the population of the Capital.
The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, announced that 128 people in Namibia tested positive for COVID-19 over the past 24 hours.
He said that of that number, 79 residents of Windhoek tested positive and expressed concern about the fact that people are willfully withholding vital information about their possible contact with other positive COVID-19 cases.
Dr. Shangula said 35 new cases were registered in Walvis Bay, ten in Swakopmund and one each in Onandjokwe, Oshakati, Outapi and Keetmanshoop.
With regard to the gender distribution of the new cases, he said that 77 are males, 51 are females and that their ages range from ten-months-old to 83 years.
“The Windhoek cases continue to increase rapidly and it is a further concern that every day we have health care workers getting infected. Among the new cases from Windhoek, three are health care workers. We need to protect our front-line workers as they have to care for others,” he said.
Dr. Shangula did not go into further details about the new cases in Windhoek, Walvis Bay or Swakopmund.
He said that the new case reported in Onandjokwe is that of a 63-year-old man who had contact with a confirmed case.
He was tested on 3 August and presented with COVID-19 related symptoms.
“The case reported in Oshakati is a 24-years-old woman with no known contact with a confirmed case but presented with COVID-19 related symptoms when she was tested on 4 August,” he said.
The health minister said a 30-year-old man from Outapi also presented with symptoms although he did not have contact with a confirmed case.
He was tested on 5 August.
According to Dr. Shangula, the new case in Keetmanshoop is that of a 41-year-old man who also presented with symptoms although he did not have contact with a confirmed case.
He said the patient was tested on 3 August.
Dr. Shangula said the condition of five patients, one from the Khomas Region and four from the Erongo Region, that were reported as severely sick remained the same.
The health minister said officials are still verifying information about people who have been declared recovered.
“Therefore, we remain with 715 cumulative recoveries,” he said.
The number of active cases that were placed in the care of health officials increased to 2 495.
At 3 931, the number of active contacts that are being monitored also increased significantly.
