Geingob extends COVID-19 measures to 30 July

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President Hage Geingob on Thursday extended the Coronavirus (COVID-19) measures to 31 July 2021.

Addressing the nation at the 31st briefing on the national response measures to the COVID-19 pandemic here on Thursday, Geingob said it is important for Namibians to continue waging the war against the pandemic unrelentingly and to fight for the ultimate gift of human life and health.

The restrictions include unauthorised travel between regions being prohibited; a limit of 10 people allowed to congregate at a given place; the prohibition of alcohol sales after 18h00 on weekdays and a countrywide curfew between 21h00 and 04h00, among others.

The Head of State stressed that although there are tight restrictions in place to suppress the spread of the virus, the rate of transmission and positivity ratio remain high, averaging 41 per cent over the past two weeks.

He further said if the situation persists it can become unmanageable and Namibians should therefore protect the healthcare system from becoming overwhelmed by reducing the rate of transmissions through observing all health protocols put in place to suppress the virus.

“The disease does not move unless we do, which increases our risk of walking into it. We should therefore avoid unnecessary movement and stay at home. Vaccination remains an important and effective tool in limiting the chances of severe illness, hospitalisation and death,” said Geingob.

The president indicated that over the past 14 days, the country exceeded 100 000 cumulative cases and over 2 000 deaths have been recorded due to COVID-19 and related illnesses.

Equally, he noted that over the course of 16 months, 108 785 Namibians have contracted COVID-19 and 24 670 are still infected, bringing the recovery rate to 75 per cent.

Geingob also noted that as Namibia strives to reach herd immunity of 1.5 million, the national vaccination rate for persons fully vaccinated stands at 1.3 per cent of the total population, while five per cent have received first doses.

“I call upon all Namibians who are eligible to get vaccinated and help to save lives. Vaccination is an important defence in our war against COVID-19,” said Geingob.

Source: Namibia Press Agency