The Ministry of Health and Social Services has called for support from other regions to help Khomas, and created more space as Windhoek hospitals continue to be overwhelmed with admissions.
This comes at a time when the government is facing a critical shortage of life-saving oxygen in public hospitals due to the collapse of oxygen generation systems in healthcare facilities across the country.
Health executive Ben Nangombe told a news briefing yesterday that hospitals had increased beds and created space to accommodate more patients.
“In recent weeks, we have increased the number of beds in the respiratory unit from 68 to 74, created additional physical spaces in other areas of hospitals to take care of the increases. We are looking to transform the old Namibian Institute of Pathology near Katutura Intermediate Hospital into a treatment center Covid-19, “he explained.
Nangombe also said they had asked the Namibian Defense Forces to redeploy the Okahanja field hospital to Homas. [region] as well as for reinforcements from other parts of the country.
“We have asked our region, which is able to do this, to deploy health professionals, nurses and other workers to help the situation in Windhoek,” he added.
Nangombe also said that no cases of the Indian variant had been found in Namibia as of yesterday, so it could not be the reason for the jump in Covid-19-related deaths.
“The genomic sequencing study we’ve done so far doesn’t show this [indian] option, “he said.
However, he added that the government would set up checkpoints at all ports of entry into Namibia to monitor people entering the country if they could be infected with the option.
He also said the ministry had not received outstanding clinical results for the 62-year-old man, who died Monday last week shortly after receiving the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19.
Health Ministry expert Ishmael Qajitae says Namibia relies on South Africa for a number of goods, including medical supplies. He said as a result, and because of the people’s movements, it is only a matter of time before the country writes down new options.
Initially, Namibia’s first cases were related to travel and were imported during the first wave, and later the country also registered options for South Africa and the United Kingdom.
“Whatever is in one country will come to another. It’s only a matter of time,” he said.
Katjitae said the new options may be partly responsible for the increasing cases, but it also depends on people’s behavior. He said people do not wear masks, observe social distances and sanitize.
“We are constantly monitoring the situation and these options are partly responsible for the larger number, but most importantly, many people fear that these vaccines are not effective against these options. However, all approved vaccines are effective against all current options.” , he said.
He reiterated that all health protocols must be followed to limit rising numbers and high deaths, saying the best examples were the United Kingdom and Germany.
PRAYER BEFORE JAB
Namibians prefer to kneel and look at the skies for divine intervention before receiving the Covid-19 vaccine, a Afrobarometer study found.
This was the mood of two-thirds (63%) of Namibians, distributed in regions and urban areas across the country between 11 December 2020 and 10 February this year.
Although they acknowledge that Covid-19 is a “very serious” virus, two-thirds of Namibians have indicated they will seek divine intervention before taking the Covid-19 strike.
77% of those interviewed said they were worried the vaccine was dangerous and were being tested on Namibians.
Only 8% say that prayer is less effective than the vaccine.
These sentiments were also shared by religious leaders, who had a consultative meeting with the health ministry.
The survey also found that more than three out of four citizens were concerned that vaccine manufacturers Covid-19 were using ordinary Namibians as guinea pigs to test the safety of their products.
Nangombe said the ministry is aware of the low supply of medical oxygen.
Namibia announced yesterday that the government is relying on external supplies to complement its non-functional domestic oxygen production systems, owned by Intaka Technology Namibia.
He added that the ministry has committed the Global Fund to support the modernization of existing oxygen supply infrastructure.
President Hague Gaingob and First Lady Monica Gaingos have recovered from Covid-19, while three State House officials have died from the virus.
Spokesman Alfredo Hengari confirmed that the president’s self-isolation should end tomorrow.
“We can confirm that we have unfortunately lost three employees due to Covid-19 and five cases are active,” Hangari told The Namibian.
The president and the first lady, who tested positive for the virus last week, have been in isolation since early May.
Hengari said the State House has a rotating system to reduce congestion.
“And we have always continued to practice effective Covid-19 protocols and measures,” he added
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