Namibian President Hage Geingob on Tuesday announced wearing masks in public places will no longer be mandatory in the country, reported CGTN Africa.
Addressing the 41st COVID-19 briefing on the national response measures on Tuesday, Geingob said is not mandatory for people to wear masks in public places. He, however, said that people who are in close settings, such as public transport, indoor public meetings are still encouraged to wear masks. He said people should try to maintain a physical distance of no less than 1 meter at all times.
The Namibian president also increased the number of people allowed to attend public gatherings from 500 to 1,000. He said fully vaccinated travelers will no longer be required to produce a negative PCR test result upon arrival at Namibian points of entry. However, they will be required to present an authentic, valid vaccination card at Point of Entry.
The removal of Covid-19 restrictions in the country comes amid a reduction in new virus cases being reported.
The current regulations are due to expire Wednesday and the new Namibian Public Health Regulations will come into force from midnight, 16 March 2022, for a period of 30 days until 15 April.
The active coronavirus cases in the country stand at 222, with the country averaging 14 new cases per day in the last seven days. Currently, the recovery rate from COVID-19 now stands at 97%, with a Case Fatality Rate of 2.5%.
Last week, the Kenyan government also allowed its people to ditch wearing face masks in open places. The government had imposed mandatory mask-wearing in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak in the country.
The government announced wearing of face masks in open public places had been lifted and full in-person worship for vaccinated persons restored as long as all those attending are fully vaccinated.
People, however, have been advised to wear face masks while attending indoor events as well as while traveling using public means of transport. Other health measures including social distancing and hand washing and sanitizing will remain in place.
