Namibia and Botswana have agreed to work closely towards the procurement and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as well as cross-border trade.
Namibian President, Hage Geingob and his Botswana counterpart, Mokgweetsi Masisi made the pact during Masisi’s one-day state visit to Namibia on Friday. A communique signed between the two heads of state indicated that the two countries agreed on “a joint approach to vaccine procurement, delivery, regulatory approval and the vaccination of citizens in both countries.”
Botswana and Namibia also pledged to share their best practices and collaborate on COVID-19 testing and test result validity. The two sides further agreed to continue facilitating cross-border trade, including maximising export and import benefits at the dry port at Walvis Bay in Namibia. The communique said Masisi and Geingob also touched on issues such as post-pandemic economic recoveries and agreed to “leverage the Trans-Kalahari corridor to create value chains in agriculture, tourism and trade facilitation.”
Botswana extends curfew to February 28
Meantime, Botswana announced a further extension of the night curfew to February 28 following revelations that risks posed by COVID-19 have escalated.
The restriction on movement will continue to apply from 20:00 to 04:00 (18:00-02:00 GMT) daily, President Mokgweetsi Masisi announced in a notice given through the government gazette published Friday. During the curfew period, people will be required to carry a permit during the curfew window. The sale and consumption of liquor in public places will remain suspended, as the two activities are regarded as super-spreaders of the global pandemic, said Masisi.
Botswana announced a curfew last December and then extended the curfew up to January 31 following the emergence of a new and more transmissible strain of COVID-19. So far, botswana has had 19, 105 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 134 deaths.
Source: http://africa.cgtn.com/2021/01/30/botswana-further-extends-curfew-to-february-28/ & Xinhua
Tags: Botswana, Namibia, COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccine, Botswana curfew
