Robert Koch Institute removes Namibia from list of COVID-19 risk countries

Namibian Embassy in Berlin has expressed appreciation after the country has been removed from COVID-19 risk countries by Robert Koch Institute (RKI), according to a news report by Namibia Economist.

The Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement, " this is a great confidence booster for the Namibian travel and tourism industry that was devastated by the understandable pandemic related travel restrictions."

The Ministry has said that passengers returning from Namibia to Germany will no longer be quarantined and that the previously required corona negative testing is no longer necessary.

Also, the Namibian Embassy in Berlin last week has finalized the visa applications for a 15-member Robert Koch Institute delegation that departed on Saturday, 17 October, to Namibia on the invitation of Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, the Minister of Health.

The partnership of the Robert Koch Institute with Namibia and Rwanda was announced by the Director for Sub-Saharan Africa of the German Federal Foreign Office, Ambassador Robert Doelger, at a recent Video Conference with the Berlin African Ambassadors.

The Ambassador and staff at the Namibian Embassy in Berlin expressed appreciation to the Robert Koch Institute for their unwavering support since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and especially the four batches of COVID-19 testing equipment delivered to Namibia through special humanitarian relief flights during this year.