ALMOST 40 countries have closed their doors to southern African countries, including Namibia and its neighbour South Africa, amid widespread panic over the new Covid-19 variant, called Omicron.
Despite recording a number of cases throughout the continent, the entire European Union (EU) has banned the entry of southern African residents soon after South Africas announcement that it had detected a new variant.
South Africa reported the new variant to the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday, while Botswana, Israel, and Hong Kong recorded cases soon after.
“This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning,” the WHO said in a statement on Friday evening.
“Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant,” the WHO said.
Namibias Ministry of Health and Social Services in a separate statement said the country is currently undertaking genome sequencing tests to establish whether Omicron is present in Namibia.
“The ministry will continue to monitor the situation, including increasing its surveillance by subjecting positive samples to regular genome sequencing for possible identification of any variant of concern and interest.
“The ministry will be updating the nation accordingly as it monitors this development,” it stated.
Minister of health and social services Kalumbi Shangula over the weekend told The Namibian the Cabinet is monitoring the situation closely and will take the necessary steps to protect Namibians.
Deputy prime minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said the travel ban to and from various countries is unfortunate, saying these countries took “drastic” decisions.
“Even the WHO, which is the principal adviser on health matters, has not pronounced itself along those lines, but they have taken that decision,” she said over the weekend.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibians are stranded in several countries and cannot return home.
“The tourism industry is picking up now that they are closing their borders. It has that impact. The lives of the people need to be safe. Livelihood is equally important.
“We need to see how to strike a balance,” she said.
Countries need to share information and collaborate, Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
She encouraged Namibians to get vaccinated to save their own lives.
Dr Ayoade Alakija of the Africa Vaccine Delivery Alliance believes if Covid-19 was first detected in Africa, the world would have cut off Africa and would not have developed vaccines.
“Had the first Covid case originated in Africa, it is now clear that the world would have locked us away and thrown away the key. There would not have been an urgent need to develop a vaccine, because it would have been dispensable.
“Africa would be known as a Covid continent,” she says.
Alakija says the current circumstances are due to the worlds failure to vaccinate urgently and equitably.
“It is a result of the hoarding by high-income countries in the world. Quite frankly, it is unacceptable. These travel bans are based on politics and not on science,” she says.
The most recent country to join the EUs flight bans is Namibias neighbour Angola, which is shutting its borders to the country as of 1 December.
According to media reports, this measure was announced by Angolas minister of state, Adão de Almeida.
The discovery of the Omicron variant has resulted in the participation of southern African beauty queens, including Miss Namibia Chelsi Shikongo, at the upcoming Miss Universe pageant being in jeopardy.
Miss Namibia co-director Umbi Karuaihe-Upi, however, yesterday confirmed that Shikongo has left for Israel.
Israel is one of numerous countries, like South Africa, Hong Kong, and Botswana, that has recorded the new Omicron variant.
Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett banned travel to and from seven African countries on Friday.
