Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Namdeb has played a critical role in supporting the Namibian Government in its efforts to mitigate the impact of the virus. Namdeb continues to play a pivotal role in this regard, and regularly engages the Ministry of Health and social Services (MOHSS) to provide support and identify needs.
In 2020, Namdeb deemed it necessary to compliment the government efforts, through a collaborative partnership, which aimed at alleviating the testing backlog by establishing the COVID-19 testing facility in the Oranjemund Private Hospital. The testing facility has been set up at its laboratory, which was originally designed to cater for the small community of Oranjemund, comprising mainly of Namdeb employees.
In order to do enable Covid-19 testing, Namdeb made extensive alterations to the laboratory, and expanded its capacity to carryout tests for the wider//Kharas Region. This has lightened the heavy burden on the Government as COVID-19 tests are only administered through accredited laboratories nationwide. To date, Namdeb continues to render support for PCR testing as well as Antigen rapid tests to ensure a faster turn-around time for results and assist in cluster case scenarios.
Since commissioning in mid July 2020, the Namdeb Laboratory has to date tested over 10,000 samples.
In addition to the testing, the Namdeb Hospital has been designated as a vaccination site by the Ministry of Health and Social Services and it has been instrumental in rolling out COVID-19 vaccinations, as well as encouraging the uptake of vaccines in the close-knit community of Oranjemund.
Since commencement of national vaccination campaign, the turnout in Oranjemund has been encouraging, giving hopes that residents from Oranjemund and surrounding areas are surely on the right trajectory to ensure protection for themselves and the greater community.
Namdeb remains dedicated to safeguarding the health and safety of the communities in which it operates, and surrounding areas, as part of their goal to leave a lasting legacy.
Contributed by Namdeb
