SITREP 53


SITREP 53



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Ministry of Health and Social Services
Republic of Namibia
(2s\\) World Health
Organization
NAMIBIA
Outbreak Name
Date & Time of
report
Prepared by
COVID-19
10 May 2020 21:10
Surveillance Team
Country affected
Namibia
Investigation start date | 13 March 2020
Date of outbreak declaration in Namibia: 14 March 2020.
1,
SITUATION UPDATE / HIGHLIGHTS
¢ No new confirmed case was reported in the last 36 days (5 April — 10 May 2020).
¢ Cumulatively, 16 confirmed cases have been reported in the country, to date.
¢ Ofthe 16 confirmed cases,eleven (11) have recovered
o One confirmed case recovered on 09/05/2020
e Supervised quarantine for all people arriving from abroad, for 14 days is ongoing.
© Stage 1 of the state of emergency ended on 4 May 2020, and stage 2 is ongoing
from 5 May until 2 June 2020;
o Wearing a mask in public is mandatory
o All borders will remain closed except for essential/critical services and
humanitarian support to the response.
© All other prevention measures are applicable to the entire country
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2. BACKGROUND
Description of the cases
¢ Index cases: Two confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in Windhoek
district on 13 March 2020. The married couple; a 35-year-old male and a25-year-
old female, arrived from Madrid, Spain on 11 March 2020.
e Total number of imported cases currently stands at 13 while 3 cases are local
transmissions.
¢ There is no evidence of community transmission in the country at the moment.
Table 1: Confirmed cases by region as of 10 May 2020
Reporting
Total Cases | New cases | Active cases | Recovered | Death
region
Khomas
11
0
2
//Karas
0
1
Erongo
4
0
2
9
0
0
2
0
Total
16
0
5
il
0
3
oo HeesRoS»eeshSeeeasnodRsSaaasadeR¢h paRooOmsSh)RexpAidoua eAreasNayD 23
Date of symptoms onset
Figure 1: Epi-curve for COVID-19 confirmed cases in Namibia as of 10 May 2020
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6
5
4
3
|
™ Male
Female
a
|
Oto4
Sto14
15to34 35to59 60to79
0+
Age group (years)
Figure 2: Age and sex distribution for COVID-19 confirmed cases in Namibia as of 10 May
2020
Q— 100 — 200 300 400 500km
COVID-19 Cases-Namibia
@ Districts
© Positive Cases
Lab Tested Cases
CNo Test
1-10
11-49
50-600
Figure 3: Suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases in Namibia per District, 10 May 2020
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3. PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION / RESPONSE INTERVENTIONS
EPIDEMIOLOGY & SURVEILLANCE
e Case definitions as of 20 March 2020:
Suspect case:
A. A patient with acute respiratory illness (fever and at least one sign/symptom of
respiratory disease, e.g., cough, shortness of breath), AND a history of travel to or
residence in a location reporting community transmission of COVID-19 disease
during the 14 days prior to symptom onset;
OR
B. Apatient with any acute respiratory illness AND having been in contact with a
confirmed or probable COVID-19 case in the last 14 days prior to symptom
onset;
OR
C. A patient with severe acute respiratory illness (fever and at least one
sign/symptom of respiratory disease, e.g., cough, shortness of breath; AND
requiring hospitalization) AND in the absence of an alternative diagnosis that fully
explains the clinical presentation.
Probable case: A suspect case for whom testing for COVID-19 is inconclusive.
Inconclusive being the result of the test reported by the laboratory
Confirmed case: A person with laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 infection,
irrespective of clinical signs and symptoms
Active surveillance working case definition as of 20 April 2020
A patient diagnosed with Upper/Lower Respiratory Infection (Mild or Severe)
presenting any of the following signs and symptoms: cough, sore throat, fever,
chills, myalgia/body pains or shortness of breath in the past 7 days.
e Surveillance activities
= Daily pillar and intra-pillar discussions are held to deliberate daily progress,
gaps and way forward;
= Call centre continue operations for 24 hours every day.
* Erongo Covid-19 hotline number (0800460460) launched today (09/05/2020)
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Data entry is ongoing and real-time data dashboard has been completed and
ready to be launched soon.
Active case search in all regions aimed at looking for possible community
transmission is ongoing.
Weekly ZOOM sessions with regional teams is on going last meeting held on
07.05.2020
An online part of the intergrated COVID-19 training was conducted with
participants ranging between 93-113 participants per day with support of WHO
and all areas were covered except Rapid Response which will be covered next
week
Contact tracing is ongoing (see table 2) .
People under mandatory quarantine are being monitored daily (see table 3) and
will be tested on day 12 before release on day 15 if they test negative.
Contact tracing Summary
Table 2: National contacts tracing summary for COVID-19 as of 10.05.2020
Variables
High | Medium | Low | Total
Total Number of contacts listed (potential)
68
52
138 | 258
Total number of Contacts never reached
0
0
16
16
Total Number of contacts identified
68
52
122 | #242
Total Number of contacts that developed signs & symptoms
25
8
7
40
*Total Number contacts without signs & symptoms TESTED
20
5.
27
52
© Total Number of contacts lost to follow up
0
2
5
7
Total Number of contacts tested positive (became cases)
3.
1
0
4
Number of active contacts monitored/followed in the last 24hrs
1
0
0
1
Total number of Contacts completed 14-days follow up
64
49
116 | 229
*Number of contacts without signs & symptoms tested. One tested positive.
© Seven contacts are lost to follow up, all are non-Namibians and have travelled back to their countries of origin.
# Number includes all contacts (24) for the truck driver who was confirmed in Zambia 23 were tested and were all negative.
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Table 3: Number of people in mandatory quarantine facilities as of 10.05.2020
Region
Kunene
Omaheke
Kavango
Omusati
Oshana
Ohangwena
Hardap
Otjozondjupa
Khomas
Zambezi
//Karas
Erongo
Total
Newly
quarantined
24hrs
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
1
0
0
14
Cumulative
number
people
26
32
4
58
6
131
70
214
239
153
115
35
1083
Number of | Number of people
of | people
in
quarantine
discharged | now
0
26
18
14
2
2
8
50
Zz
4
j4
77
40
30
100
il4
157
82
109
44
93
22
35
0
618
465
LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS
e As of 10 May 2020, 1449 COVID-19 specimens were tested in the two laboratories
(NIP and Path Care) as per table 4. below:
Table 4: COVID-19 specimens recorded at NIP and Path care Laboratories as of
10.05.2020
NIP [PathLabcaorreat|orySouth Africa | 7°
Total sample received by the Laboratory
1268 | 339
-
1607
Total sample tested
1116 | 333
-
1449
Total results received
1116 | 333
-
1449
Total sample re-tested
94
1
-
95
Total results positive
9
6
*1
16
Total results negative
Total sample discarded
1107 | 327
-
1434
58 4
-
62
Total results pending
0
1
-
1
Total results inconclusive/indeterminate
0
0
-
0
@Total new suspected cases in last 24 hours
0
0
-
0
“1 Patient specimen collected and tested in South Africa, he travelled back before resulis came out
@ Total new suspected cases laboratory results received within past 24 hours
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COORDINATION AND LEADERSHIP:
© Daily feedback meetings of pillar leads and Incident manager (IM) are ongoing,
to share daily accomplishments and to address key challenges.
¢ Integrated Zoom trainings started on 6 May 2020 and ongoing.
e Submitted final inputs on SOPs and indicators to pillars for finalisation and
submission to management for endorsement.
© A plan/concept note for assessing current readiness and capacity gaps being
drafted for strengthening covid-19 response in the regions
CASE MANAGEMENT
e Out of the 16 cumulative confirmed cases, 11 have recovered, and have been
discharged after testing negative twice for COVID-19 at 48 hours’ interval.
¢ The remaining 5 active cases are in stable condition and are all asymptomatic.
¢ Conversion of casualty department at Windhoek Central Hospital (WCH) into a
highly infectious referral ICU is nearing completion with a total of 8 beds.
e Pre-fabricated isolation units being constructed in Opuwo, Oshakati, and Rundu.
LOGISTICS:
e Facilitation of the allocation of quarantine facilities in the country and
transportation for discharged people from quarantine facilities is ongoing.
¢ Provision of commodities’ specifications and verification for procurement is being
done regularly.
¢ Cummulative number of recruitments to date 1444 (Temporary staff 790 &
Permanent staff 654)
POINTS OF ENTRY:
e A meeting was held with other stakeholders, after which the SOP for the
management and monitoring of trucks and other cross border vehicle drivers was
finalized.
© The implementation of the SOP will be enhanced once the Transport Sector
directives to combat the spread of COVID-19 has been gazetted.
e Conducted a training through integrated training via Zoom onCOVID-19 response.
¢ Screening and inspection of incoming travellers and trucks at points of entry and
check points are ongoing
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RISK COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
¢ The communication hub continues to give updates on COVID-19 and clarify
miscommunications on a daily basis.
© This is done concurrently with the social media updates.
¢ The Media continue to communicate messages on COVID-19 and the lifting of the
lockdown to stage 2.
e The RCCE continues to share messages on COVID-19 prevention measures.
PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT SERVICES:
e A total of 523 persons in need of shelter housed at two sites in Windhoek, while a
total of 102 still on the street.
e Provision of health education, psychosocial support services, as well as food at
places where persons in need of shelter are placed are ongoing.
4. CHALLENGES
¢ Inadequate isolation units at health facilities in the regions.
¢ Unavailability of swabs, probes and primers for NIP laboratory to start testing for
Seasonal Influenza (H1N1) from beginning May 2020.
e Inadequate viral swabs and PPE at different regions such to implement active case
search testing.
5. RECOMMENDATIONS
e Establish fully equipped isolation units at health facilities in the regions.
e National response team to complete a concept note/plan for determining status and
existing capacity gaps for covid-19 response in the regions
¢ NIP to fast track procurement process laboratory testing kits (swabs, probes and
primers) for Seasonal Influenza (H1N1) testing.
e IPC and logistics pillar to continue maintaining the procurement and supplies of
sufficient PPE to the regions to ensure response is not interrupted.
Approved:
YY
\\ L OW
Incident Manager
Date: 10.05.2020
CW
Secretariat
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