Niël Terblanché
ONE year has passed since two visitors from Romania were diagnosed with COVID-19 in Namibia.
On 14 March the day after the first cases of the dreaded COVID-19 were recorded in Namibia, health authorities declared the official outbreak of the pandemic in the country.
A few days after the declaration acknowledging the pandemic in Namibia, President Hage Geingob declared a State of Emergency that brought with it lockdowns and strict regulations aimed at curbing the rapid spread of the disease.
Over the past year, a total of 41 025 people were infected with the new coronavirus or SARS-CoV2 and according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Health and Social Services, 458 deaths ascribed to COVID-19 have occurred in that time.
Although some deaths occurred in the first few months of the pandemic, the death rate suddenly spiked in July and August last year and since then the deaths ascribed to COVID-19 have been steadily climbing.
The latest COVID-19 statistics provided by the Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, indicates that a cumulative number of 38 264 people were declared healthy after they had positive test results over the past year.
There are currently 2 295 active cases under the surveillance of health officials.
Of the more than 2 000 active cases 147 people are currently hospitalized and of that number 26 people are being treated in intensive care units of hospitals in the Khomas, Erongo, and Oshana regions.
Dr. Shangula said that on the COVID-19 anniversary day, 215 new cases were recorded from a test batch of 1 525 specimens.
Two deaths ascribed to COVID-19, that of a 94-year-old woman in Katima Mulilo and an 86-year-old woman in Oshikuku, were reported on the day that marks one year of the pandemic in Namibia.
