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Army recruited in battle against coronavirus
Army recruited in battle against coronavirus

Army recruited in battle against coronavirus

Ellanie Smit
ELLANIE SMIT



The defence ministry has been engaged to deploy a mobile field hospital at Hosea Kutako International, while an isolation unit is also being equipped to deal with suspected coronavirus cases.

This is according to the health minister, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, who also confirmed that the 30-year-old Namibian woman suspected of having the new coronavirus has tested negative.

According to Shangula the woman had entered Namibia through Hosea Kutako Airport on 27 January and stayed in Khomasdal for three days.

She had travelled to Sydney, Australia, and returned via Doha, Qatar, to Namibia. She had travelled with people from China who were wearing masks and coughing.

After staying in Windhoek she travelled to Swakopmund and on 31 January presented at the Swakopmund District Hospital with coughing, a running nose and a headache. She did not complain of fever but after examination it was decided to put her in an isolation unit at the hospital.

Shangula said the two nurses who attended to the patient were also quarantined, while patients who had queued with the woman were given health education and told to go to a health facility if they developed any symptoms.

Samples were taken from the woman and sent for testing to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in Johannesburg, South Africa. The samples were dispatched on 3 February and the results indicate that the woman is not infected with the 2019 strain of coronavirus.

“I must stress that this person was screened at Hosea Kutako and was cleared. It therefore shows that our screening method at the airport is effective and can be relied on,” said Shangula.

He said that although the results were negative, it did not mean that Namibia could rest on its laurels.

“It only means that we must strengthen our preparedness to ensure the coronavirus does not enter and spread in our country.”

Meanwhile, steps have been taken to enable the Namibia Institute of Pathology to test for coronavirus.

“Conducting these tests locally will tremendously strengthen our response to be able to treat and manage patients timeously when a positive case is identified,” Shangula said.

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Namibian Sun 2024-12-24

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