RUSTENBURG- A 63-year-old Namibian man is in critical condition and on a ventilator at Walvis Bay State Hospital after testing positive for Covid-19, Namibia media reported on Wednesday.
This brings to 22 the number of Covid-19 cases in Namibia, with 14 recoveries.
Health Minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula told the daily newspaper The Namibian that the man was on a fishing vessel that had returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
State-run daily newspaper New Era reported that the man was in DRC to deliver fish and salt products.
He was part of a crew that left Namibian waters on April 25, reported local newspaper Informanté. The crew, consisting of four Namibians and five foreigners, arrived back in Namibia on May 5.
Shangula told Informanté that the man was known to have underlying medical conditions. He went into self-quarantine on May 8 while his team members remained on the vessel.
"On the 19th of May, the patient went to see his doctor with the same complaints of chronic pain. No fever or respiratory symptoms were reported at this point or before. The doctor examined him and gave him some medication to take home. On 22 May he was admitted to a general ward and developed difficulty in breathing on the 24th. He was then intubated and rushed to ICU (intensive care unit). It was then that a differential diagnosis of Covid-19 was entertained and a rapid antibody test was done, which tested positive,” Shangula told the newspaper.
Shangula said all of the man's contacts were tested and the results came out negative. However, they have been moved into an isolation facility for further monitoring, and contact tracing in the region is ongoing.
Informanté also reported that Namibian-born Abiud Uazeua, 56, a resident of the UK, had become the first Namibian national to succumb to Covid-19.
Deputy Prime Minister and International Relations Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said Uazeua died in the presence of his immediate family.
"Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the deceased person’s remains cannot be repatriated and alternative funeral arrangements will be made during the course of the week. Uazeua was well known and condolences to the family have been pouring in from around the world,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
Uazeua lived with his family in Nottingham and had been a permanent resident of the UK for the past 15 years.
The UK is one of the hardest-hit nations, with over 265,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19, including 37,000 deaths.