Niël Terblanché
THE Onandjokwe health district experienced another sharp spike in new COVID-19 cases after 58 more people involved with the Nehale Senior Secondary School in the vicinity of the hospital had positive test results.
The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, announced the latest COVID-19 statistics and said that 170 learners from schools in the Oshikoto Region have tested positive for infection since March when the pandemic started in Namibia.
“We have recorded a total number of 345 learners, across the country who tested positive for COVID-19. The Oshikoto Region recorded 49.3% followed by Khomas region with 19.7%,” he said.
The health minister said that it shows that there is an active transmission at the specific school and he urged stakeholders to adhere to preventive measures in schools and in other closed settings.
“Since schools have restarted, the learners are identifiable as a separate group from the community. If the number of new cases is more than ten per district they are either from the hostels or from correctional facilities,” he said.
He added that this is true for the Onandjokwe, Eenhana, Rundu, and Usakos health districts.
“All stakeholders involved should continue putting all efforts to contain the transmission in the closed setting. Equally important, the community members in these areas should be extra vigilant,” he said.
Dr. Shangula said that 125 people in Namibia had positive COVID-19 test results. He said that 58 people at Onandjokwe, 17 in Windhoek, 14 in Rundu, 11 in Eenhana, five each in Omaruru and Walvis Bay, four in Rehoboth, three each in Swakopmund and Okahandja, and one each in Usakos, Okakarara, Katima Mulilo, Karasburg, and Gobabis all tested positive from a specimen batch of 944.
The health minister said the gender distribution of the new cases is 82 males and 43 females of which the youngest patient is a two-year-old toddler and the oldest is a 74-year-old pensioner.
Dr. Shangula also announced the recovery of 77 people of which 36 are from the Khomas Region, 35 are from the Otjozondjupa Region, two each from the Karas and Ohangwena regions, and one each from the Zambezi and the Kunene regions.
The health minister did not announce any fatalities ascribed to COVID-19 which means that Namibia’s death toll remained at 121 for a second consecutive day this week.
