Namibia has joined a number of global countries such as Denmark, England, Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden that have scrapped the mandatory wearing of face masks in the wake of declining COVID-19 cases.
President Hage Geingob on Tuesday announced the scrapping of the mandatory rule of wearing face masks in public as part of relaxed coronavirus regulations.
“However, people who are in close settings, such as public transport, indoor public meetings are encouraged to wear masks. Physical distance of no less than one meter must be maintained between persons at all times,” he said.
“The abolishment of the mandatory face mask mandate, does not mean the abolishment of common-sense. On the contrary, common-sense must continue to prevail.”
Geingob announced an upward review of the size of public gatherings from 500 to 1,000 people.
“This will be applicable to all social gatherings as defined in the Regulations, including weddings, funerals, church services and sporting events,” the President said.
Fully vaccinated travellers, according to Geingob, will no longer be required to produce a negative PCR test result upon arrival at a Namibian Points of Entry, “but are instead required to present an authentic, valid vaccination card at Point of Entry.”
He revealed that as of March 15, 2022, nationally, only 21.4% of the country’s eligible population was fully vaccinated.
“This is one third of the WHO recommended population coverage of 60% to achieve national herd immunity. Vaccination remains one of the most effective measures in our multi-faceted National Response against COVID-19,” the President said.
He acknowledged the negative impact that COVID-19 has had on the country’s lucrative tourism sector.
“Economic data reveals that the volume of foreign tourist arrivals remain at only one third of what they were in 2019. This means that the employment-intensive tourism sector which provides direct and indirect employment to approximately 150,000 Namibians, is still in recession,” Geingob said.
According to Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) latest figures, the majority of people who visited various hospitality establishments in January were Namibians, 52.9% of the visitors.
The relaxation of the COVID regulations by the government, comes as the country’s recovery rate from COVID-19 now stands at 97%, with a Case Fatality Rate of 2.5%.
The new Public Health Regulations will come into force from midnight, 16 March 2022, for a period of 30 days until 15 April 2022.
