with the most cases nationwide, leads with the number of tests performed. khomas and !karas regions also have high number of tests carried out. windhoek, the capital, is situated in khomas region and is where the initial infections were reported. !karas region houses many quarantine facilities for namibians returning from abroad. many people enter here from south africa (which it borders at the south) and have thus a higher number of tests carried out compared to other regions. as of 29 september 2020, a total of 97,008 tests were carried out. government preparation and responses suspension of flights and state of emergency in a first reaction on 14 march, when the first cases were confirmed, government suspended air travel to and from qatar, ethiopia and germany for 30 days. later, on 18 march 2020, all ports of entry were closed from highly affected countries (i.e. most schenghen countries). all public and private schools were closed for a month, and large gatherings were prohibited. this included celebrations for the 30th anniversary of namibian independence that was to take place on 21 march. libraries, museums, and art galleries were also closed. on 17 march president hage geingob declared a state of emergency as a legal basis to restrict fundamental rights, e.g. to freely move and assemble, guaranteed by the constitution. the prohibition of large gatherings was clarified to apply to 50 or more people. access to information, surveillance a covid-19 communication hotline (0800100100) was established on 15 march 2020 which is run by the ministry of health and social services and the centre for disease control of namibia (cdc). the hotline serves to answer general enquiries of the public, assisting persons seeking guidance from the ministry and reporting possible symptoms or cases of covid-19. the government also announced on 18 march that it will strengthen their communication to the public via various platforms, such as the covid-19 communication centre operated by nbc, in an attempt to "mitigate and refute misinformation, fear and panic especially from social media". the centre was fully functional by middle april 2020. with the establishment of a multi-disciplinary emergency response team, the ministry intensified their surveillance in monitoring the situation of covid-19 in the country, especially at the borders of namibia. the response team operates 24/7. screening at all points of entry has become mandatory. all namibians returning from high risk areas were to go under mandatory quarantine for 14 days; all costs are covered by the government. schools, tertiary education as per the regulations of stage 1 and the proclamation of the state of emergency, all schools, early development childhood centres and tertiary institutions should be closed, and attendance is prohibited. schools are to reopen in a phased manner - necessitating the grades with higher priorities and workload (see below). military field hospital a class two military field hospital was established at the hosea kutako international airport to deal with persons identified with possible symptoms and as a quarantine facility. the central state hospital, amongst others, also underwent renovations to its emergency rooms and icu wards to allow it to operate in a covid-19 environment. testing before the confirmation of covid-19 in namibia, tests could not be done locally. instead, samples had to be sent to south africa for testing, which accounted for longer than usual waiting times. namibian institute of pathology (nip) started testing locally in windhoek at the end of march 2020. in late april, private laboratory pathcare started testing samples. namibia was hit by a lack of reagents at the end of april, which slowed down testing. private testing at pathcare is expensive (about n$850) compared to state (nip) testing which is free to the patient. at the end of april, 362 tests had been conducted, 206 by the namibian government through the namibian institute of pathology (nip), and 156 by south african laboratories. on 1 july, the health ministry announced that there is substantial backlog of laboratory results. results announced at this time dated back to samples tested almost a week before that. the ministry however said they were "working on this matter" together with the namibian institute of pathology. as of 1 july, 9,551 tests were carried out. economic stimulus package an emergency income grant was set up by government to distribute n$ 750 to every person that lost income or faces otherwise difficult conditions due to the lockdown. over 800,000 people applied for this grant. 346,000 of them were paid by the end of april. khomas & erongo regions beginning 27 march, a 21-day lockdown of the regions of erongo and khomas was announced as per regulations of stage 1 (see below). this was the initial lockdown of the two main economic hubs; the "heart" of the namibian economy. national on 14 april the lockdown was extended to 4 may. it now officially applied to all regions, although the stay-at-home order had already been enforced countrywide. some of the lockdown conditions were amended, such that now fishing counted as essential service, and open markets as well as informal trade were allowed to operate. namibia moved into stage 2 on 5 may 2020. namibia moved to stage 4 on 29 june 2020. namibia reverted to stage 3 for 16 days on 13 august. erongo region the city of walvis bay was moved back to stage 1 on 28 may because two infected people came into contact with local people. the rest of the country entered stage 3 on 2 june 2020. on 8 june the lockdown of walvis bay was extended to all of erongo region for 14 days after a worrying spike in cases in the region - constituting a full lockdown. this lasted until 23 june, when the whole region migrated to stage 3. the constituencies of walvis bay, swakopmund and arandis are excluded, although travel are allowed for emergency reasons only. reopening of the economy lockdown stages president hage geingob announced on 30 april the gradual reopening of the economy in various stages. each stage will have an observance period of 28 days - twice the incubation period of covid-19. the addition of stage 5 was announced on 22 june 2020 by the president, hage geingob. this stage constitutes the "new normal" which will last until the end of the state of emergency. different stages of lockdown in namibia from march until the end of the state of emergency. stage 1 28 march 2020 — 4 may 2020 stage 1 constitutes a full lockdown. some guidelines: closure of all points of entry. restrictions on domestic travel; a permit will be needed for inter-region travel. exempted: essential goods transportation. public gatherings not allowed; limited to 10 people. compulsory quarantine and self-isolation for returning namibians. only essential businesses allowed to operate; other employees to work from home. closure of all schools, tertiary institutions and early childhood development centres. personal movement restricted. motor vehicle passenger restrictions. sale of alcohol strictly prohibited. stage 2 5 may 2020 — 1 june 2020 stage 2 constitutes a lockdown with some easing of restrictions. some guidelines: closure of all points of entry. comprehensive restrictions on cross-border travel. exempted: essential goods transportation. compulsory quarantine and self-isolation for returning namibians. public allowed to travel between regions/municipalities (except if stated otherwise). motor vehicle passenger restrictions. domestic air travel permitted if safety regulations are followed (screening, disinfecting). public gatherings not exceeding 10 people. all schools and tertiary institutions remain closed - alternate forms of teaching should be used. productive activities across most sectors to reduce given that safety precautions are met. theatres, gyms, exercise centres, liquor stores remain closed. shopping malls may operate given they do screening, keep registers and follow safety guidelines. employees with existing medical conditions encouraged to work from home. ongoing strengthening of the healthcare system. stage 3 2 june 2020 — 29 june 2020, 13 august — 11 september 2020 stage 3 constitutes a moderate reopening of the country & economy, however with some restrictions. some guidelines: closure of all points of entry cross-border movement restrictions remain in place. some exceptions. public gatherings and social distancing protocols to be reviewed. public gatherings limit: 50 people. some high-risk activities (gyms, movie theatres, schools) to reopen with strict hygiene measures in place. restaurants allowed to operate, reservations required. sale of alcohol allowed on certain times of the day. reduced restrictions for vulnerable persons. 30 june 2020 — 12 august 2020 stage 4 this stage resembles the "new normal" for most citizens. more restrictions are lifted. some guidelines: points of entry remain closed, except for the transportation of goods. a targeted international tourism revival initiative will be conducted between 15 july - 15 august 2020 which will look to accommodate a limited number of tourists into namibia after this period. each person is required to wear a facemask. resumption of domestic air travel. quarantine protocols remain in place: all namibians and non-namibians should present themselves with a covid-19 pcr test upon arrival. mandatory quarantine and self-isolation for returning citizens - at own cost. 6 july only: schools, tertiary institutions, early development childhood centres & activities resume for some grades. current grades allowed: 11 & 12; except: walvis bay, swakopmund & arandis. public restrictions on gatherings reviewed; public gatherings now allowed for 250+ persons. other hygiene measures are still in place: social distancing, wearing of face masks, strict hand-washing, logbooks etc. contact sports may commence. the health care system will be strengthened during this period. sale of alcohol for on-site consumption allowed. reservations necessary. stage 5 ? — end of state of emergency the 5th stage resembles the "new normal" for citizens. still under review. moderate opening of borders to selected countries. public gathering limitations reviewed. quarantine protocols: may be reviewed or removed. return to normal prior to the lapse of the lockdown a 4-stage strategy was developed to gradually ease restrictions: the lockdown itself is stage 1. in stage 2 most businesses are allowed to operate again, and people are allowed to move around. employees over 60 and those chronically sick are to work from home. in public a face mask is to be worn, and social distancing is still to be implemented. gatherings of more than 10 people, contact sports, bars and gyms are not allowed, alcohol may not be sold, and international borders remain closed. stage 3 is envisaged to follow 28 days after stage 2, twice the incubation period of the virus. it will allow the reopening of schools and universities and a gradual opening of borders. public gatherings of up to 20 people will be permitted. stage 4, again 28 days after stage 3, is planned as the full return to pre-pandemic regulations with the exception of large gatherings. borders remain closed and health protocols remain in place. public gatherings increase to 250+ people. stage 5 is the final stage where most restrictions are lifted or reviewed. this stage is intended to last until there is a vaccine for the virus. namibia moved into stage 2 on 5 may 2020. the city of walvis bay was moved back to stage 1 on 28 may because two infected people came into contact with local people. the rest of the country entered stage 3 on 2 june 2020. on 8 june the lockdown of walvis bay was extended to all of erongo region for 14 days. education the resumption of face-to-face teaching was phased to resume during august, but has subsequently changed due to changing conditions. the namibian ministry of education, arts and culture have on multiple stages altered the resumption of face-to-face teaching mainly due to student and teacher unions' demands. the academic year was extended to 18 december 2020 for all grades. curfew, revert to stage 3 on 12 august 2020 when president hage geingob addressed the nation in his 15th covid-19 media conference, it was announced that all 14 regions will revert to stage 3 after "the confirmation of clustered community transmission". the president announced that a curfew will be introduced in the local constituencies of windhoek (and surround areas), walvis bay, swakopmund and arandis. the curfew will be in effect from 20:00 until 05:00 the next morning. additional measures (amongst others) included: restaurants may only operate on a take-away basis (stage 2 restrictions). nightclubs, casinos and gambling houses not allowed to operate. increased mass testing in windhoek where "clustered community transmission"