o SURVEILLANCE:
Public Health graduates commenced at call centre on 23 March 2020 to work at hotline
operators and contact tracers
Training on surveillance and contact trancing planned on 25-26 March 2020 targeting
Regional surveillance officer, Environmental Health Practitioners and Tutors responsible for
continuous development from MoHSS training network
A toll-free hotline has been activated and staffed with operators to address concerns from the
general public operating 24 hours.
Daily meetings are held to discuss daily progress, gaps and way forward, last meeting held
on 23 March 2020.
SOPs are finalized and shared with coordination for approval.
35 Namibians who arrived on 21March 2020 are in supervised quarantine and being
monitored daily until 4 April 2020
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 (see definition of contact) 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.
o LABORATORY:
= Laboratory has been involved and sensitized about collecting and transporting this
extreme biohazard specimen from suspected patients
= There is a system in place for shipping specimen to NICD reference laboratory in South
Africa.
= NIP continue to test the collected samples and provide daily updates on the results
o CASE MANAGEMENT and Infection Prevention and Control:
1 new confirmed case today, tested via Pathcare. Imported case (Travel history to London).
All 4 cases are admitted in isolation wards and managed as per WHO recommendations.
Of the 2 index cases, 1 is asymptomatic and the other has mild symptoms but is clinically
improving. The 3" case is classified as mild-moderate and needed close monitoring
As of 23 March 2020, all patients are stable.
SOP on both case management and IPC is readily available on soft copy and has been
distributed to all sub-committees as well as on social media platforms but needs to
periodically be revised.
Training on case management and IPC has already begun at WCH and KIH. The plan is to
tap into ZOOM platforms and have regular presentations nationwide. First ZOOM
presentation was on 20/03/20 at SPM
Integrated case management and IPC Plan is available for distribution.
GBlPace
