SITREP 62


SITREP 62



1 Page 1

▲back to top


Ministry of Health and Social Services
Republic of Namibia
aSv WOorrgladnizHaetailotnh
NAMIBIA
Outbreak Name
Date & Time of
report
Prepared by
COVID-19
19.05.2020 22:00
Surveillance Team
Country affected
Investigation start date
jamibia
13 March 2020
Date of outbreak declaration in Namibia: 14 March 2020.
1.
SITUATION UPDATE / HIGHLIGHTS
e No new confirmed case was reported in the last 44 days (5 April — 19 May 2020).
e Cumulatively, 16 confirmed cases have been reported in the country, to date.
e Of the 16 confirmed cases, fourteen (14) have recovered
© One case recovered today (19/05/2020)
e Supervised quarantine for all people arriving from abroad, for 14 days is ongoing.
e 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.
o All other prevention measures are applicable to the entire country
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.
1|Page

2 Page 2

▲back to top


e There is no evidence of community transmission in the country at the moment.
Table 1: Confirmed cases by region as of 19 May 2020
Reporting
Total Cases | New cases | Active cases | Recovered | Death
region
Khomas
11
0
1
10
0
//Karas
1
0
0
1
0
Erongo
4
0
1
3
0
Total
16
0
2
14
0
*]
ga8 e
:z35o 1
o/ | 2s B e SSsRSoSseSseSsegs d8SR ad6e s6caR Rsde aRRstOaS8R ga6sEe sR naRHgSeR sKoAsayo tKHK seEegR enKsgss R eRHRSgseeeR KAseaase KR SsaRSsAS$RneKesaHe K geEHegte eKR sgenKg sR eeeDaEShgeRRnKseae R eKgSHeheoKR saeenKse HR essEsDSR ReKsSRe R nSKsEeseSEsAHsBaEsDRssRSsB6
Date of symptoms onset
Figure 1: Epi-curve for COVID-19 confirmed cases in Namibia as of 19 May 2020
. aL
Oto4
5 to 14 15to34 35toS9 60 to 79
80+
Age group (years)
m™ Male
Female
2[Page

3 Page 3

▲back to top


Figure 2: Age and sex distribution for COVID-19 confirmed cases in Namibia as of 19 May
2020
— 0 100 200 300 400 500km
COVID-19 Cases Namibia
(3 Districts
© Positive Cases
Lab Tested Cases
No Test
1-49
(50-100
@G§i 110511--1150047
Figure 3: Suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases in Namibia per District, 19 May 2020
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. 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
3|Page

4 Page 4

▲back to top


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 on 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
planned to be launched on 22 May 2020.
* Continous support for the COVID-19 intergrated online training in partnership
with WHO.
= 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 17
May 2020
= Contact tracing and monitoring 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.

5 Page 5

▲back to top


Contact tracing Summary
Table 2: National contacts tracing summary for COVID-19 as of 19 May 2020
Variables
High | Medium | Low | Total
Total Number of contacts listed (potential)
Total number of Contacts never reached
70
52
137
259
0
0
16
16
Total Number of contacts identified
70
52
121
243
Total Number of contacts that developed signs & symptoms
*Total Number contacts without signs & symptoms TESTED
© Total Number of contacts lost to follow up
25
8
7
40
20
5
27
52
0
2
5
7
Total Number of contacts tested positive (became cases)
Number of active contacts monitored/followed in the last 24hrs
Total number of Contacts completed 14-days follow up
3
1
0
4
2
0
0
2
65
49
116 | 230
*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.
Table 3: Number of people in mandatory quarantine facilities as of 19 May 2020
Region
Newly
Cumulative
quarantined 24hrs | of people
number | Number — of | Number
of
people
people
in
discharged
quarantine now
Kunene
0
Omaheke
0
Kavango
9
Omusati
0
Oshana
0
Ohangwena
0
Hardap
0
Otjozondjupa
0
Khomas
3
Zambezi
37
//Karas
0
Erongo
0
Total
49
42
26
16
56
27
29
13
4
9
74
52
22
9
6
3
131
73
58
102
72
30
215
168
47
308
226
82
225
129
96
190
99
91
AT
35
12
1412
917
495
5|Pag

6 Page 6

▲back to top


LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS
e As of 19 May 2020, a total of 2446 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 19 May
2020
Variables
Total sample received by the Laboratory
Total sample tested
Total sample re-tested
Total results positive
Total results negative
Total sample discarded
Total results pending
Total results inconclusive/indeterminate
| Total new suspected cases in last 24 hours
NIP
1960
1783
119
9
1774
58
0
0
88
Laboratory
Path care | South Africa
692
-
663
-
21
-
6
*I
657
-
8
-
0
-
0
-
39
-
ola
2652
2446
140
16
2431
66
0
0
147
*] Patient specimen collected and tested in South Africa, he travelled back before results came out
COORDINATION AND LEADERSHIP:
e Feedback meetings of pillar leads and Incident manager (IM) are ongoing (3
times a week), to share accomplishments and to address key challenges.
¢ Integrated online trainings started on 6 May 2020 and are ongoing until 26 May
2020.
¢ Submitted final inputs on SOPs and indicators to pillars for finalisation and
submission to management for endorsement.
CASE MANAGEMENT :
e Out of the 16 cumulative confirmed cases, 14 have recovered after testing negative
twice for COVID-19 at 48 hours’ interval.
e The remaining 2 active cases are in stable condition and are all asymptomatic.
INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL:
e [PC activities are on going to address the specific activities in the terms of reference
¢ Completed IPC Facility Readiness Checklist from regions and continue engaging
the Case Management team.
© Distribution of PPE according to the plan for the regions is ongoing.

7 Page 7

▲back to top


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.
POINTS OF ENTRY:
e Screening and inspection of incoming travellers and trucks at points of entry and
check points is ongoing
¢ Points of Entry pillar is currently setting up the regions for receiving daily reports
on the activities at all Points of Entry.
© Conducted two online integrated training session on SOPs at POE in the country
RISK COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
e The communication hub continues to give updates on COVID-19 and clarify
miscommunications on a daily basis.
© 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
through mass media.
e The National Youth Council has mobilised resources to enable youth volunteers
host educational sessions at household level in all 121 constituencies.
e The Community Engagement toolkit has been printed and being distributed to all
community health workers countrywide.
PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT SERVICES:
© Provision of health education, psychosocial support services, as well as food at
places where persons in need of shelter are placed are ongoing.
7|Page

8 Page 8

▲back to top


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 (H1IN1).
e Insuficient PPE and swabs to conduct active case search in some districts.
5. RECOMMENDATIONS AND WAY FORWARD:
e Establish fully equipped isolation units at health facilities in the regions.
e NIP to fast track procurement process for laboratory testing kits ( probes and
primers) for Seasonal Influenza (H1N1) testing.
e Logistics pillar to continue with the procurement and distribution of sufficient PPE
to the regions to ensure that response is not interrupted.
e NIP to continue sourcing for swabs to provide adequate swabs needed for all
districts.
Approved:
MA ans
Incident Manager
Date: 19 May 2020
ae
8|Pag