WINDHOEK, Namibia – Namibian President Hage Geingob issued a sombre warning to his country on Wednesday after coronavirus cases spiked.

The small southern African country is in the grips of a third wave of infections, which peaked last Thursday when the country recorded more than 2,500 new cases, the highest daily tally since the virus was first detected in the country in March last year.

“New Covid-19 infections are rising exponentially and the country continues to record an increasingly high number of hospitalisations and deaths across the country,” Geingob said during an address to the nation.

“The number of new cases per day has more than tripled, since the first week of June, from an average 507 cases per day to the current average of 1,798 cases per day.

“Over the past two weeks, a total of 59,015 tests have been conducted, with a positivity rate of 41 percent. This means four out of every 10 people you interact with, in your day-to-day dealings, are likely to be Covid-19 positive. This rising level of exposure is of great concern, because of the highly transmissible nature of the virus.”

On Tuesday, Namibia’s health ministry said it was temporarily suspending administering first doses of Covid-19 vaccines as supplies run low.

It said remaining doses of the AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines should be reserved for people getting their second doses.

Out of Namibia’s population of 2.5 million people, only around 116,000 have received a first dose of either the Sinopharm or AstraZeneca vaccine, while some 23,000 have received two vaccine doses.

Because it is classified as an upper middle-income country, Namibia had to pay to participate in global vaccine distribution scheme COVAX. But despite making payment, it has only received 24,000 doses out of 108,000 allocated by the facility.

It has received donations of 100,000 Sinopharm doses from China and 30,000 AstraZeneca doses from India.

It still expects a further 150,000 Sinopharm doses, 100,000 AstraZeneca shots, 80,000 Johnson & Johnson doses and 80,000 shots of Russia’s Sputnik V, health ministry executive director Ben Nangombe told reporters.

Geingob said Namibia had reached a “critical moment in our fight against Covid-19” as he ordered a ban to travel across regions.

The president also ordered schools and universities closed until July 16, while imposing a 9PM to 4AM curfew.

Alcohol will be served between 9AM and 6PM from Monday to Thursday on a take-away basis, he said, while public gatherings would be limited to 10 people per event.

“We’re faced with a period of great difficulty but by showing the strength of our character, by showing resilience against this unprecedented challenge, we shall overcome. Let’s rise to the occasion and overcome Covid-19 with passion, sacrifice and struggle,” Geingob said.