28 Nov 2021

While government is concerned about the outbreak of Omicron, the new COVID-19 variant recently detected here and other Southern African countries, the new variant should not be termed “the Botswana Variant.”

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Edwin Dikoloti, emphasised this during a press conference alongside two other cabinet ministers; Dr Lemogang Kwape of International Affairs and Cooperation and Mr Eric Molale of Local Government and Rural Development  on Botswana Television yesterday.

Dr Dikoloti applauded local scientists who he said did an excellent job in detecting the new strain.

He explained that the initial cases detected were of four foreign nationals who had briefly visited Botswana. 

“The variant was reported on foreign nationals who had entered Botswana on the 7th of November. They tested positive for COVID-19 on the 11th of November and the variant was confirmed as B1.1.529 on 24 November 2021,” he said.

Such detection should not be confused with Botswana being the country of origin of the strain, he said.

The Minister further said following the discovery of the virus among the visitors, contact tracing was conducted and all the contacts of the four cases, which had already left, tested negative.

He said further assessments and analysis of other positive COVID-19 samples had as November 28 morning produced 15 more cases of the variant bring the total number of cases to 19.  

Minister Kwape said 14 of the cases were reported within Greater Gaborone, four were Serowe/Palapye area and one from Kgatleng.

All the cases reported by Serowe Palapye DHMT were truck drivers who were detected at Martins Drift Border Post.

The case reported by Kgatleng DHMT was that of an individual who resides in South Africa and had visited his family in Botswana and tested as pre-travel test requirement, while the cases in Greater Gaborone were linked to two clusters of outbreaks that were currently under investigation, he said.

“Given this short characterisation, it appears to us that most of the 19 cases so far detected in Botswana were imported cases,” said Minister Dikoloti.

Stop geo-politicising the variant

The minister emphasised the need to eschew geo-politicisation of the virus saying it was not to going help world in anyway other than stigmatising countries. 

“WHO is against using the names of countries to label Coronavirus variants as this leads to unnecessary stigmatisation of such states,” Dr Dikoloti said.

Such stigmatisation had led to the current red-listing of Botswana, which portended a very difficult situation for the country.

“I am expecting one to two million vaccines before the end of this year. In fact 500 000 doses were supposed to arrive here on Monday. What this red-listing will do is cause havoc,” he said.

Minister Dikoloti said instead of being eager to red-list African countries, the West should  allow African countries to manufacture vaccines and have a better fighting chance. 

Dr Dikoloti cautioned the nation to work hard at maintaining COVID-19 preventative measures to ensure the new strain did not spread quickly and cause the harm previously felt at the height of the pandemic mid-year.

For his part, Dr  Kwape called for the nation to be vigilant and seriously adhere COVID-19 prevention protocols.

He revealed that he received official communication from the British and American authorities who told him about their countries' intentions to red-list Botswana. 

“When I asked of them why so abruptly, they said they’d rather err on the side of caution,” he said.

Africa must stand together

Responding to a question, minister Kwape said African countries should stand in solidarity and not emulate the West, as failure to do would be detrimental to their chances of defeating the virus.

More stringent measures to control virus

Meanwhile, Mr Molale said henceforth his ministry would be more stringent in the release of permits for entertainment events, to ensure promoters adhered to COVID-19 protocols.

He said government was cognisant of the fact promoters had already booked venues and paid artistes, but it was important to prioritise life over entertainment.

However, he said government was not keen to impose a lockdown as that would be a most extreme measure, which remained a possibility if people continued to ignore safety and prevention protocols as recently seen in Gaborone and Francistown.

Minister Molale stated that from Monday, his ministry would be talking to local council authorities on the modalities of enforcing the regulations when issuing permits.

Some of these regulations may prescribe that tickets be only sold prior to events and not at the venue; that only those with COVID-19 vaccination certificates be allowed in.

“We all saw what happened during the last spike in July and August. Nobody wants us to go back there,’ he said.

Mr Molale said cabinet had discussed the fact that schools were COVID-19 super-spreaders,  and since they were about to close, government should take advantage and vaccinate learners during vacation. That would mean lowering the vaccination age to below 18.

He further urged individuals and communities to not let their guard down but work hard to combat COVID-19.

Minister Molale urged families to take responsibility for ensuring adherence to COVID-19 protocols. Ends