The public transport sector will receive one million face masks from the government to help suppress the spread of COVID-19 as Namibia enters the fourth wave with the recently discovered highly transmissible Omicron variant, President Hage Geingob has announced.
Speaking at the 38th public COVID-19 briefing here on Tuesday, Geingob said the government under the current measures effective 16 December 2021 until 15 January 2022 will not implement a curfew in order to allow for a better spread of public transportation and movement of persons ahead of the festive season, while cautioning Namibians to avoid unnecessary travel, movement and risky behaviour during the next few weeks.
“We urge public transport operators to insist on the correct wearing of masks by passengers. This festive season will be pivotal in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and we must therefore change our conduct. The virus cannot spread in the absence of specific human actions. The actions we take and our behavioural patterns will either derail or aid our efforts to defeat COVID-19,” Geingob cautioned.
The Head of State further announced that public gatherings have been reduced to 200 from 500 persons, while alcohol trading hours will remain unchanged and the validity of PCR tests will be reduced to 72 hours from the time results are produced to the entry of point into Namibia.
Geingob cautioned that the government will not hesitate to implement further restrictions in order to safeguard the health of Namibians, which has been the first priority since the onset of COVID-19, noting that the Namibian economy and health system cannot afford a deadly fourth wave caused by individual or collective recklessness.
“The future of our physical and economic wellbeing depends on the actions we, as a collective, take today. We cannot afford another dark season of high infections, illness, hospitalisations and deaths. Therefore, individual responsibility, of which the main defence against COVID-19 is vaccination, social distancing, the correct wearing of masks and hand hygiene, should be adhered to,” the Head of State stressed.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
