Namibia: Omicron – Namibian Diplomat Tests Positive in Japan

A Namibian diplomat (30) tested positive for the Omicron Covid-19 variant in Japan on Sunday.

The diplomat is one of two individuals the Ministry of Health and Social Services are monitoring after testing positive for the variant.

The second case involves a Czech national (60) who visited Namibia.

Minister of health and social services Kalumbi Shangula yesterday confirmed both these cases, saying the ministry is currently collecting information on the cases – especially on the individuals’ route of travel and their contacts in Namibia.

Executive director of international relations and cooperation Penda Naanda yesterday confirmed the case of the diplomat, saying he embarked on an Ethiopian Airways flight from Namibia with a negative PCR Covid-19 test.

“One of our colleagues has indeed tested positive, and according to the Japanese authorities, he tested positive for the Omicron variant. He arrived in Japan on Sunday evening, 28 November. He was tested at the airport and was released to go home,” he said.

Naanda said while on their way home, the diplomat and his family were called to return to the airport and were quarantined.

“He was informed that he tested positive for Omicron only yesterday,” he said.

Naanda further said the diplomat, who flew via Addis Ababa, was the only member of his family who tested positive “according to the information at hand”.

“The driver who went to pick him up is also quarantined. He is doing fine . . . he is not feeling fluish,” Naanda said.

The executive director asked for the diplomat’s privacy to be respected.

Meanwhile, Kyodo news reported that the diplomat’s samples were being examined by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases to confirm whether he is indeed infected with the Omicron variant.

“Around 70 people who were on the same flight as the diplomat have tested negative and are being treated as close contacts,” Japanese health minister Shigeyuki Goto told Kyodo news.

CZECH VISITOR

Czech prime minister Andrej Babis on Sunday announced that samples of a woman, who visited Namibia recently and arrived in the Czech Republic via South Africa and Dubai, are currently being tested for the Omicron variant.

“We are waiting for her test results. She is in isolation now, and all her contacts are being checked,” Babis tweeted.

Shangula said the woman has not been identified yet.

“We are engaging other jurisdictions to establish her identity. We also want to know whether she stayed in Namibia or was in transit,” he said.

OMICRON CASES GLOBALLY

As of yesterday, 42 cases of the Omicron variant have been confirmed in 10 European countries.

A group of 10 people on flights to Amsterdam tested positive for Omicron, among 61 passengers who were found to have been infected with Covid-19.

This variant has so far been detected in Austria, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Reunion Island, South Africa, Botswana, Canada, Australia, Israel, and Hong Kong.

International media reported that the Omicron variant was already present in the Netherlands when South Africa alerted the World Health Organisation on its emergence last week.

One of the cases in Germany is a 39-year-old man who had neither been abroad, nor had contact with anyone who had travelled, news agency dpa reports.

NAMIBIANS TO GET SINOPHARM BOOSTERS

Meanwhile, Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel said the existing Covid-19 vaccines would be less effective against the Omicron variant than they have been against the Delta variant. According to the WHO, the global risk related to the new Omicron variant “is assessed as very high”.

“Depending on how transmissible the variant is and whether it could escape immunity, the likelihood of the potential further spread of Omicron at the global level is high,” the WHO brief said.

The health ministry yesterday announced that Namibia would follow the recommendation of the WHO to administer a third dose of the Sinopharm vaccine against Covid-19 to people aged 60 years and older, people with comorbidities and the immuno compromised, as well as anyone over 18 who has already had two Sinopharm shots.

CHELSI QUARANTINED IN JERUSALEM

Meanwhile, Miss Namibia 2021 Chelsi Shikongo is currently quarantined in Jerusalem, in Israel.

This was announced yesterday by the co-director of the Miss Namibia pageant, Umbi Karuaihe-Upi.

Shikongo left the country on Sunday to participate in the 70th Miss Universe competition in Eilat, in Israel, on 12 December. More than 70 countries are expected to compete in the well-known pageant.

“Chelsi was in quarantine for 24 hours and has been given two more days to quarantine, because she comes from a red-listed country,” Karuaihe-Upi said.

Recently, news headlines worldwide were a buzz announcing that Miss Universe France Clémence Botino (24) has tested positive for Covid-19 after arriving in Israel ahead of the international pageant.

“This is not an easy time. I wish Chelsi, the other contestants, and the entire team strength and calmness during this difficult time,” Karuaihe-Upi said.

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