COVID-19 pandemic in Namibia

The COVID-19 pandemic in Namibia is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

COVID-19 pandemic in Namibia
Cumulative COVID-19 cases per region as of 21 August.   3,000+   1,700+   50-100   20-49   1-19
Cumulative COVID-19 deaths per region as of 21 August.   >20   <20   1   None
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	Namibia
First outbreak	Wuhan, Hubei, China (suspected) 30°35′14″N 114°17′17″E
Index case	Windhoek, Khomas Region
Arrival date	11 March 2020 (4 years, 7 months, 3 weeks and 6 days)
Confirmed cases	6,160 (as of 25 August)
Active cases	3,371 (as of 25 August)
Recovered	2,732 (as of 25 August)
Deaths	57 (as of 25 August)
Fatality rate	0.9%

Early cases

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, announced on 14 March 2020 that the virus had reached Namibia. A Romanian couple constituted the two first cases and recovered after 79 days after their initial diagnosis.

On 17 March 2020, President Hage Geingob declared a state of emergency which caused the closure of all borders, suspension of gatherings and economic related resolutions.^[1]

No infections were reported from 6 April 2020 to 20 May 2020, however there was a notable increase in cases after this period - possibly due to local transmission.

Timeline

• March 2020: 11 confirmed cases, nine of which still active at the end of the month. No COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[2]
• April 2020: 5 new cases bringing the total number to 16. Half of them were active at the end of the month. No COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[3]
• May 2020: 8 new cases bringing the total number to 24. Ten of them were active at the end of the month. No COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[4]
• June 2020: 181 new cases bringing the total number to 205, of which 181 were active at the end of the month. No COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[5]
• July 2020: 1,924 new cases bringing the total number to 2,129, of which 1,953 were active at the end of the month. Ten COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[6]
• August 2020: 5,421 new cases bringing the total number to 7,550, of which 4,148 were active at the end of the month. 65 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[7]
• September 2020: 3,590 new cases bringing the total number to 11,140, of which 2,130 were active at the end of the month. 46 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[8]
• October 2020: 1,848 new cases bringing the total number to 12,988, of which 1,766 were active at the end of the month. Twelve new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[9]
• November 2020: 1,357 new cases bringing the total number to 14,345, of which 694 were active at the end of the month. 18 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[10]
• December 2020: 9,596 new cases raising the total number to 23,941 of which 3,660 were active at the end of the month. 54 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[11]
• January 2021: 10,003 new cases raising the total number to 33,944 of which 1,214 were active at the end of the month. 147 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[12]
• February 2021: 4,901 new cases taking the total number to 38,845 of which 2,160 were active at the end of the month. 72 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[13]
• March 2021: 5,294 new cases taking the total number to 44,139 of which 1,768 were active at the end of the month. 99 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[14]
• April 2021: 4,515 new cases taking the total number to 48,654 of which 1,688 were active at the end of the month. 119 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[15]
• May 2021: 6,895 new cases taking the total number to 55,549 of which 4,044 were active at the end of the month. 187 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[16]
• June 2021: 34,368 new cases taking the total number to 89,917 of which 21,066 were active at the end of the month. 691 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[17]
• July 2021: 29,368 new cases taking the total number to 119,285 of which 20,628 were active at the end of the month. 1,523 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[18]
• August 2021: 5,761 new cases taking the total number to 125,046 of which 2,319 were active at the end of the month. 332 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.
• September 2021: 2,543 new cases taking the total number to 127,589 of which 1,112 were active at the end of the month. 136 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[19]
• October 2021: 1,349 new cases taking the total number to 128,938 of which 746 were active at the end of the month. 43 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[20]
• November 2021: 305 new cases taking the total number to 129,243 of which 163 were active at the end of the month. 19 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[21]
• December 2021: 18,731 new cases raising the total number to 147,974 of which 13,301 were active at the end of the month. 60 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[22]
• January 2022: 7,925 new cases raising the total number to 155,899 of which 6,156 were active at the end of the month. 334 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[23]
• February 2022: 1,311 new cases bringing the total number to 157,210 of which 509 were active at the end of the month. 40 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[24]
• March 2022: 436 new cases bringing the total number to 157,646 of which 558 were active at the end of the month. Twelve new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[25]
• April 2022: 1,165 new cases bringing the total number to 158,811 of which 1,124 were active at the end of the month. Six new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[26]
• May 2022: 6,986 new cases bringing the total number to 165,797 of which 2,997 were active at the end of the month. 13 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[27]
• June 2022: 3,406 new cases raising the total number to 169,203 of which 393 were active at the end of the month. 26 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[28]
• July 2022: 50 new cases raising the total number to 169,253 of which 375 were active at the end of the month. Eight new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[29]
• October 2022: 726 new cases bringing the total number to 169,929. 15 new COVID-19 deaths were reported.^[30]
• December 2022: 366 new cases bringing the total number to 170,295. Two new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.
• 2023: 1944 new cases bringing the total number to 172,239. 22 new COVID-19 deaths were recorded.^[31]

Cases total

As of August 2020, Namibia was within the top 20 number of countries with the most COVID-19 cases reported in Africa.

A total of 166 health care workers tested positive for the virus, increasing the pressure on the health system given that a shortage of health care workers existed even before the pandemic.

Quarantine

On 31 July, the Health Minister announced a small end in quarantine protocols that would account for faster recovery rates. Patients with a positive COVID-19 result will automatically be regarded as recovered 10 days after their infection, given that they do not display symptoms anymore.^[32]

Vaccination campaign

Vaccinations started on 19 March 2021, initially with 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine donated by China and 24,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine purchased through COVAX.^[33]

References

1. "Namibia declares State of Emergency due to COVID-19 | United Nations in Namibia". namibia.un.org. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
2. "Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation report 72" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 April 2020. p. 8. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
3. "Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation report 102" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 May 2020. p. 6. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
4. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 133" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 June 2020. p. 8. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
5. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 163" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 July 2020. p. 7. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
6. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 194" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 August 2020. p. 5. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
7. "Outbreak brief 33: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic" (PDF). Africa CDC. 1 September 2020. p. 4. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
8. "COVID-19 situation update for the WHO African Region. External situation report 31" (PDF). World Health Organization. 30 September 2020. p. 4. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
9. "Outbreak brief 42: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic". Africa CDC. 3 November 2020. p. 4. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
10. "Outbreak brief 46: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic". Africa CDC. 1 December 2020. p. 4. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
11. Diallo, Oumy (1 January 2021). "Coronavirus en Afrique : quels sont les pays impactés ?". TV5MONDE (in French). Retrieved 4 January 2021.
12. "Outbreak brief 55: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic". Africa CDC. 2 February 2021. p. 4. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
13. "Outbreak brief 59: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic". Africa CDC. 2 March 2021. p. 4. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
14. "Coronavirus - Namibia: COVID-19 update (31 March 2021)". APO Group. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
15. "Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 4 May 2021". World Health Organization. 4 May 2021. p. 15. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
16. "Sub-Saharan Africa: COVID-19 transmission continues across the region in June /update 27". Crisis24. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
17. "COVID-19 situation report for WHO Africa Region" (PDF). NIHR Global Health Research Unit Tackling Infections to Benefit Africa at the University of Edinburgh. 1 July 2021. p. 40. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
18. "Weekly bulletin on outbreaks and other emergencies" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 August 2021. p. 4. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
19. Dagdoug, Salma (1 October 2021). "Le point sur l'épidémie du coronavirus : Mise à jour du 01 Octobre 2021 à 11H00". Turess (in French). Retrieved 10 October 2021.
20. "Outbreak brief 94: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic". Africa CDC. 2 November 2021. p. 4. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
21. Update by Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, Minister of Health and Social Services on COVID-19 in Namibia, 30 November 2021.
22. Update by Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, Minister of Health and Social Services on COVID-19 in Namibia, 1 January 2022.
23. "Outbreak brief 107: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic". Africa CDC. 1 February 2022. p. 5. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
24. "Weekly bulletin on outbreaks and other emergencies" (PDF). World Health Organization. 27 February 2022. p. 5. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
25. "Weekly bulletin on outbreaks and other emergencies" (PDF). World Health Organization. 3 April 2022. p. 5. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
26. "Outbreak brief 120: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic". Africa CDC. 3 May 2022. p. 4. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
27. "Weekly bulletin on outbreaks and other emergencies" (PDF). World Health Organization. 29 May 2022. p. 14. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
28. Update by Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, Minister of Health and Social Services on COVID-19 in Namibia, 1 July 2022.
29. "Outbreak brief 133: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic". Africa CDC. 2 August 2022. p. 4. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
30. "Weekly bulletin on outbreaks and other emergencies" (PDF). World Health Organization. 30 October 2022. p. 16. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
31. "Weekly bulletin on outbreaks and other emergencies" (PDF). World Health Organization. 31 December 2023. p. 12. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
32. "Ministry of Health and Social Services-Namibia". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
33. Nakale, Albertina (1 April 2021). "Namibia's Covid vaccine hunt… country sets new vaccination target of 80%". The New Era. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.