Article Link: https://allafrica.com/stories/202009181002.html
The country of Namibia has been under a state of emergency for almost six months in order to halt the spread of coronavirus, and has finally decided to return to a semi-normal form of life, with added precautions. The country has suffered both socially and economically due to the shutdown, and President Hage Geingob hopes to recover from this with the lifting of restrictions. Instead of permanently ending the state of emergency, the Cabinet has consented to a two week monitoring period before moving forward with the return to normalcy. Geingob expresses that his first priority is maintaining the health of his citizens, but he also must maintain the well being of his country. He’s quoted as saying, “Yes, the virus is deadly, however, we are aware that poverty also kills.” The number of cases in Namibia has continued to steadily decline, with a 30% decrease in the past week. The government is well aware of the possibility of another wave of the virus, but they say they have put in place the proper measures to prevent this while slowly beginning the restoration of the country’s economy.
Geingob’s quote perfectly represents the situation Namibia is in. Clearly the health of the country is an ongoing issue, and the government is aware of this, but if they don’t take action the country may fall into a level of economic disarray that it can’t recover from. Obviously the economy will not return to the way that it was pre-Covid immediately, but starting somewhere is important to its recovery. The second biggest industry in Namibia is tourism, which has now come to a halt with new travel restrictions. This has resulted in the loss of many jobs, and since the industry won’t be returning for an unknown length of time, the unemployment rate in the country will likely not recover for a while. Since the country’s economy relies on tourism, rebuilding the economy with a different focus is likely the path the government will take. Hopefully with the lifting of restrictions businesses will begin to reopen, but there will be a significant decrease in the number of customers than before the virus hit.
If the government takes the proper precautions while lifting the state of emergency, and pays attention to the trends of coronavirus, the social and economic status of the country should begin to slowly recover. It will be a long return to normalcy in Namibia, but if the correct measures are taken this can help the country prevent widespread poverty while maintaining the health of its citizens.