It wasn't long ago that Namibia was a popular retreat for corona-tired South Africans.

The neighboring country with the wonderful landscape is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world: three people live there per square kilometer.

So a lot of space to avoid the virus.

Claudia Bröll

Freelance Africa correspondent based in Cape Town.

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Now, however, the situation there has worsened dramatically. Hospitals are overcrowded, although a state hospital in the capital Windhoek has already been converted into a Covid hospital. Nine high-ranking politicians and civil servants have died as a result of an infection in the past ten days alone. Zedekia Ngavirue, chief negotiator in the negotiations for a reconciliation agreement with Germany, also lost the fight against the virus.

Almost everything is missing: medical oxygen, protective clothing, masks, vaccines.

Recently, President Hage Geingob, who was infected himself, decided to use the few vaccine doses only for first and no longer for second vaccinations.

According to reports, the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine for the second injection is available in one place in Windhoek.

At the end of last week, long queues formed in front of it at seven in the morning.

"The situation is catastrophic," says Mareli Claassens from the University of Namibia.

"We urgently need international support."

Seven-day incidence of 400

Most recently, more than 1,400 new infections per day were counted, twice as many as in mid-June.

Calculated for the 2.5 million inhabitants, this results in a seven-day incidence of 400. This is one of the highest values ​​in the world.

The number of deaths is also increasing.

The funeral directors in Windhoek are overwhelmed.

A third wave of infections is sweeping across large parts of the African continent.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the number of infections has exceeded the peak of the second wave.

For a long time, Africa seemed to have been relatively spared from the pandemic.

Now the continent is a hotspot.

One of the reasons is the delta variant, which, according to the WHO, has now appeared in ten African countries.

Researchers at the University of Namibia discovered the variant that spreads particularly quickly in 17 of 18 samples.

It is particularly painful that the vaccination campaigns in Africa are making slow progress.

At the end of June only around 22,000 Namibians were fully vaccinated, the goal is 1.5 million.

So far, the state has received close to 200,000 doses of vaccine - AstraZeneca and Sinopharm.

But the supplies are almost exhausted.

The country with an extremely unequal income distribution is classified as a middle income country, so it has to pay for vaccines that are distributed to poorer countries through the WHO's COVAX initiative.

Experiment with "miracle cures"

At the same time, there is great skepticism about vaccinations. In a survey by the Afrobarometer institute at the beginning of June, almost two thirds of those questioned said that prayers were more effective than vaccines. More said they did not trust the government to provide safe vaccines. At the same time, nine out of ten respondents are worried about becoming a victim of the pandemic. Many experiment with “miracle cures” and unapproved drugs. Doctors are already reporting an increase in patients with liver damage and similar diseases.

In times of need, the private sector has now taken the initiative. Mark Dawe, who runs the subsidiary of the B2Gold mining company in Namibia, has been constantly on the Corona for weeks. Together with the heads of around 30 other companies, he takes care of procuring liquid oxygen from South Africa for Namibia's hospitals. All of the oxygen that the initiative organizes is donated to the state clinics.

Lack of oxygen is the biggest problem in the fight against the third wave, says Dawe.

Getting it is extremely difficult, because the number of infections is skyrocketing in South Africa too.

Medical oxygen is scarce anyway because there are not enough liquid oxygen tanks and filling capacities.

In addition, the logistics in Namibia are a challenge.

Originally the plan was to deliver 160 tons of oxygen every month by the end of September.

"It is already clear that we will need a lot more, and probably for a longer time."

"Time is running out"

The German government has also decided to help.

An Antonov An-225 from Leipzig landed in Windhoek on Thursday, bringing protective clothing, antigen tests and intensive care beds.

The plane is used by the German Armed Forces to transport aid supplies all over the world; it has now come to Namibia for the first time.

In addition, the federal government decided to donate vaccine doses to poorer countries by the end of 2021.

Part of it should also go to Namibia.

“Time is of the essence,” says Dawe.

During the conversation, the mobile phone rings again and again in his home office because the oxygen deliveries have to be coordinated.

The mine boss, who is not a man of many words, shows the hardships.

"We are not heading for a catastrophe here, we are right in the middle of it."