Executive Director in the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS), Ben Nangombe, has said Namibia is closely monitoring the outbreak of the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) in northern China and called on the public to remain calm.
Speaking to Nampa on Tuesday, Nangombe said the ministry is closely monitoring the outbreak and would, at an appropriate time, issue a public notice regarding the assessment of the outbreak.
According to recent media reports, China is experiencing a surge in infections of the respiratory virus, which causes symptoms similar to the common cold and influenza and can lead to severe complications such as pneumonia, particularly in infants, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems.
“We have learnt a very good lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic. We have put in place and strengthened our public health surveillance for outbreaks. We have strengthened our isolation capacity should it become necessary that people who might be affected need to be isolated, and we have strengthened our capacity for the provision of oxygen and the training of public health professionals to deal with public health emergencies,” he said.
Nangombe indicated that the outbreak has not been declared a public health emergency or a national concern yet, and no international advisory has been issued by any authority with regard to restrictions on travelling to any destination.
Former Minister of Health, Dr. Bernard Haufiku, emphasised the need for Namibia to ensure readiness for any eventuality of disease outbreak from all sectors, particularly the MoHSS, with regards to public health.
“It is a standing principle for all of us, not only in the health sector, to be aware and to know what to do when disasters or outbreaks affect us.That is the best strategy. We have learned our lesson with COVID-19: resources are difficult to invest in structures that are not working,” he said.
Haufiku said it is vital for Namibia to have active surveillance in place with a network of partners, such as multilateral organisations, to keep on customising the approach to such eventualities.
“If it's a novel virus, as it is now speculated, the danger is that you do not know its ultimate behaviour and effects on human beings. One just hopes that it is not like COVID-19, but with any new novel organism, one always worries because you are basically studying it and understanding its behaviour,” he noted.