Another group of people is expected to arrive in Namibia from the Netherlands on Thursday and will also be quarantined, to contain the spread of COVID-19, Health and Social Services Minister Kalumbi Shangula has announced. Shangula, in a media statement on Tuesday said arrangements are currently underway for their quarantine. The Minister further said that the 35 Namibians who arrived from Netherland with KLM airline on 21 March 2020, are under a 14-day supervised quarantine in Windhoek district as per the State of Emergency. They came from various COVID-19 high-risk countries mostly in Europe, the United States of America and Canada. According to Shangula, none of the persons under quarantine are displaying any symptoms consistent with the COVID-19 standard case definition. “Family members of these individuals, as well as members of the public, are strongly discouraged from visiting the facility during this period. Arrangements are in place to facilitate the delivery of essential items such as food,” he said. He went on to say that from Tuesday, their families are expected to provide them with meals that will be delivered at the Emergency Operation Centre in Windhoek for delivery to the quarantine facility. The meals, he stressed must be clearly labelled to facilitate distribution, adding that containers used to deliver food or other items to the quarantine facility will only be returned to owners after the quarantine period. This is done to prevent possible transmission of the virus. Shangula also said that the Ministry of Health and Social Services is following up with all contacts of the 19-year-old Namibian male who tested positive of COVID-19 on 19 March 2020, after he returned from England via Johannesburg. He was not admitted to a hospital but is in isolation and his condition is stable. The Minister once again encouraged the public to continue avoiding large crowds, wash hands regularly with soap and running water, avoid touching their face and to stay away from other people when sick. -NAMPA