Africa-Press – Namibia. The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, has announced the end of the Covid-19 fourth wave but urged the public to remain cautious and to get vaccinated.
“We can now say that we have emerged from the fourth wave. However, the pandemic itself is not over. The number of cases being reported in recent weeks is more manageable, with an average of 52 cases per day in the last seven days,” Dr Shangula said at the 40th public Covid-19 briefing.
There has been a substantial reduction in the Covid-19 positivity ratio and the number of active cases over the last month. In fact, between 16 January and 16 February, the Covid-19 positivity ratio decreased from 13% to 3% and the number of active cases declined from 9 828 to 2 568.
The end of the fourth wave also comes with new Covid-19 guidelines. The number of attendees permitted at gatherings, sport events, memorial services and burials has been increased to 500. Nonetheless, the minimum physical distance rule still applies and it is still mandatory to wear masks in public areas.
The Ministry’s latest Covid-19 update announced 45 new Covid-19 cases from 1 490 results. Of these, 38 are unvaccinated. The Erongo (10) and the Otjozondjupa (7) regions recorded the highest new cases.
Furthermore, the update also revealed that 63 people are hospitalised and three are in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) due to Covid-19. Fifty-seven of the 63 hospitalizations and two of the three ICU cases are unvaccinated.
The ministry also announced one Covid-19 death. The deceased was an unvaccinated, 42-year-old man from the Engela district. This brings the total number of Covid-19-related deaths to 3 997.
“Vaccination remains our best hope of ending this pandemic, restoring the dented livelihoods, and re-building our economy,” Dr Shangula explained. However, according to the minister, vaccination rates still remain low due to vaccine hesitancy, despite being a “proven solution”.
The Ministry announced that by 15 February, 370 007 individuals, of which 1 493 are children, have been fully vaccinated. This represents 20,8% of the target population.
Namibia did not achieve the World Health Organization (WHO) target vaccination rate of 40% by the end of 2021. Moreover, the country is also not on track to achieving the WHO target of 70% of the eligible population by mid-2022.
“Please, make the right choice and get vaccinated in order for us to end this pandemic once and for all,” the minister advised.
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