SITREP 56


SITREP 56



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Ministry of Health and Social Services
Republic of Namibia
(@) World Health
S38 Organization
NAMIBIA
Outbreak Name
Date & Time of
report
Prepared by
COVID-19
13.05.2020 21:10
Surveillance Team
Country affected
Investigation start date
Namibia
13 March 2020
Date of outbreak declaration in Namibia: 14 March 2020.
i,
SITUATION UPDATE / HIGHLIGHTS
e No new confirmed case was reported in the last 38 days (5 April — 13 May 2020).
¢ Cumulatively, 16 confirmed cases have been reported in the country, to date.
© Of the 16 confirmed cases, twelve (12) have recovered
o One confirmed case recovered today (13/05/2020)
e Supervised quarantine for all people arriving from abroad, for 14 days is ongoing.
e Stage | 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.
o All other prevention measures are applicable to the entire country
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2. BACKGROUND
Description of the cases
e 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 a 25-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.
e There is no evidence of community transmission in the country at the moment.
Table 1: Confirmed cases by region as of 13 May 2020
Reporting
Total Cases | New cases | Active cases | Recovered | Death
region
Khomas
11
0
2,
9:
0
//Karas
1
0
i
0
0
Erongo
4
0
iL
3
0
Total
16
0
4
12
0
a3
H hheom nbGth ehSUah eo l u ooth aeoahr ioyh
e eSsReS&eaG SSsae¢s4 aSR 8eSRSheRRReeASRes B
ae
8AB
Date of symptoms onset
Figure 1: Epi-curve for COVID-19 confirmed cases in Namibia as of 13 May 2020
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6
5
4
E
m= Male
@ Female
fm
:
Oto4
5to14
15to34 35to59 60to79
80+
Age group (years)
Figure 2: Age and sex distribution for COVID-19 confirmed cases in Namibia as of
13.05.2020
0— 100 — 200 — 300 400 500km
COVID-19 Cases Namibia
= Districts
© Positive Cases
Lab Tested Cases
(No Test
1-49
| 50-100
101-150
@@ 151-1047
Figure 3: Suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases in Namibia per District, 13 May 2020
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3. PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION / RESPONSE INTERVENTIONS
EPIDEMIOLOGY & SURVEILLANCE
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. A patient 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.
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.
= Data entry is ongoing and real-time data dashboard has been completed and
ready to be launched soon.
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= 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
= 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 13.05.2020
Variables
High | Medium | Low | Total
Total Number of contacts listed (potential)
Total number of Contacts never reached
68
52)
0
0
138 | 258
16
16
Total Number of contacts identified
Total Number of contacts that developed signs & symptoms
68
52
25
8
122 | 242
Ti
40
*Total Number contacts without signs & symptoms TESTED
© Total Number of contacts lost to follow up
20
5
0
2
27
52
5
op
Total Number of contacts tested positive (became cases)
3)
1
Number of active contacts monitored/followed in the last 24hrs
2
0
0
4
0
2
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.
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Table 3: Number of people in mandatory quarantine facilities as of 13.05.2020
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
5
3)
32
Te
50
Cumulative
number
people
26
41
4
61
6
13h
70
215
288
165
189
44
1240
Number of | Number of people
of | people
in
quarantine
discharged | now
0
26
18
a3
Zz
2
8
53
4
2
j4
TT
40
30
100
115
188
100
iil
j4
99
90
35
2.
659
581
There are cureently 220 cross border truck drivers in transit (quarantined for less than 14 days)
in Walvis Bay.
LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS
e As of 13 May 2020, 1872 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
13.05.2020
|.
Laboratory
_
Variables
NIP | Path care | South Africa
Total sample received by the Laboratory
1554 | 503
-
Total sample tested
1386 | 486
-
Total sample re-tested
110 |9
-
Total results positive
9
6
71
Total results negative
1377 | 480
=
Total sample discarded
58
8
=
Total results pending
0
0
5
Total results inconclusive/indeterminate
0
0
:
@Total new suspected cases in last 24 hours
130 | 81
=
Total
2057
1872
119
16
1857
66
0
0
211
*@1 PTaottiaelntneswpecsiusmpeenctceodllceacsteesd alnadbortaetsoterdy irnesSuoluttsh reAcfreiicvae,d hweitthrianveplalsetd 2b4ackhoubresfore results came out
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COORDINATION AND LEADERSHIP:
e Daily feedback meetings of pillar leads and Incident manager (IM) are ongoing,
to share daily accomplishments and to address key challenges.
e Integrated online 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.
e 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.
e The remaining 5 active cases are in stable condition and are all asymptomatic.
LOGISTICS:
e Facilitation of the allocation of quarantine facilities in the country and
transportation for discharged people from quarantine facilities is ongoing.
e Provision of commodities’ specifications and verification for procurement is being
done regularly.
e Cummulative number of recruitments to date 1444 (790 Temporary staff & 654
Permanent staff)
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.
co 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.
e Screening and inspection of incoming travellers and trucks at points of entry and
check points are ongoing
TP 2

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RISK COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
e 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.
e 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
e Inadequate isolation units at health facilities in the regions.
e Unavailability of probes and primers for NIP laboratory to start testing for Seasonal
Influenza (H1N1) from beginning May 2020.
e Delayed distribution of viral swabs to different regions
5. RECOMMENDATIONS AND WAY FORWARD
e Establish fully equipped isolation units at health facilities in the regions.
e NIP to fast track procurement process laboratory testing kits (swabs, probes and
primers) for Seasonal Influenza (H1N1) testing.
¢ NIP to fast track the distribution of viral swabs to regions
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:
Date: 13.05.2020
Secretariat
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