All contact sports ceased as Covid-19 cases spike
Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula on Friday banned contact sports, reducing the number of spectators at non-contact sporting events from 100 to 50, following an upsurge of Covid-19 cases in Namibia.
Speakingduringthe28thCovid-19 briefing session at State House, Shangula said the new regulations will be enforced for a period of one month, starting 1 June 2021.
“It is mandatory for the spectators to comply with public health measures at all times. Contact sports is prohibited,” Shangula explained.
This ban is expected to affect sporting activities such as football, rugby, netball, boxing, hockey, karate and cricket.
However, Cricket Namibia CEO Johan Muller said they will not be affected by the new regulations, as their programme will resume only in August.
Namibia Premier Football League director Mabos Vries said the league’s matches that took place over the weekend were not affected by the new regulations.
“The new regulations are kicking in only on 1 June (tomorrow), so we will then sit down and discuss with all the stakeholders and chart the way forward regarding football matches,” he said.
Namibia Rugby Union CEO Theo Grunewald said they are disappointed with the latest update but noted that the most important thing was the wellbeing and safety of the players and the nation at large.
“The two matches against Zimbabwe, scheduled for June, are now cancelled. We have, however, requested the Namibia Sports Commission to allow us to continue training, and they will get back to us on Wednesday. The national league will also stop its activities from 1 June as per the government order,” he said.
The month of May saw Namibia recording 5 497 new Covid-19 cases, with 152 Covid-19 deaths.
Shangula said the government had observed that members of the public were deliberately disobeying the regulations and putting everyone at risk.
“I must emphasise that the current surge in cases being experienced in Namibia is mainly fuelled by the fact that many of our people are not complying with the public health regulations, especially when it comes to public gatherings,” Shangula stressed.
He called on Namibians to get vaccinated to reduce the risk of getting infected by Covid-19. – Nampa