Health Alert – U.S. Embassy Windhoek, Namibia (March 29, 2020)
Location: Namibia (countrywide)
Event: The Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services has confirmed 11 cases of COVID-19 in Namibia.
The Department of State has issued a Global Level 4 Health Advisory for COVID-19, and the Centers for Disease Control issued on March 27, 2002 a global Warning Level 3 Travel Health Notice to avoid nonessential international travel.
The U.S. Embassy in Windhoek is finalizing details for a special commercial flight from Windhoek to Lusaka to depart Windhoek on Wednesday, April 1, 2020, at 9:00 am. The capacity of this flight is 50 people, and the airline requires a minimum of 48 confirmed passengers in order to move forward with the flight. If you have not confirmed to us that you would like to be included on this flight, please do so now by responding to this email. This is the only flight that the Embassy has scheduled at this time. Should you not take this flight, you should plan to remain in Namibia for the foreseeable future.
This flight will take passengers to Lusaka, Zambia, after which passengers would continue to the United States on Ethiopian Airlines via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We are working closely with our U.S. Embassies in Zambia and in Ethiopia and with Ethiopian Airlines to ensure that commercial options with sufficient seats remain available for those interested in these flights. Ethiopian Air is holding a block of seats for American citizens on a flight from Lusaka through Addis Ababa to Dulles, VA. If individual passengers would like to work with Ethiopian Airlines to select another destination, they have flights available from Addis Ababa to Newark, New York, Houston, and Chicago.
Payment details for these flights will be shared with you as soon as they are finalized. Payments will be made directly to the airlines to secure your seats.
If you are interested in being included in a repatriation flight and have not yet done so, please fill out this Repatriation Form immediately for each individual who would be interested in a repatriation flight. If you have already filled out this form, there is no need to fill it out again.
Seats on repatriation flights are offered first to official U.S. government personnel and their dependents, U.S. citizens at higher risk from COVID-19, U.S. citizen minors and their family members, and adult U.S. citizens in need of medical assistance who do not fall into a higher priority group, in that order. After these priority boarding groups are accommodated, seats will be offered to U.S. citizens, dependents of U.S. citizens, and other eligible persons, in that order.
Following the meeting today of the National Committee, the Embassy has been informed of the procedure for U.S. citizens to enter the Khomas region in order to join a repatriation flight. If members of the Consular team spoke to you by phone today to confirm your interest in this flight, we are aware of your location outside of Windhoek and will include you in our official notification to the Namibian Government. We will reach out to you with copies of this notification once it is transmitted so you can carry a copy with you on your travels. If you intend to take this repatriation flight and have not notified us that you are located outside of Khomas region, please do so immediately by responding to this email.
Interested parties should verify that their passports and other documentation are current and valid for at least six months from today’s date. For emergency American Citizen Services, including emergency passports, please visit our website for additional information at https://na.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/
Actions to Take:
- Consult the CDC website for the most up-to-date information.
- For the most recent information on what you can do to reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19, please see the CDC’s latest recommendations.
- Visit the COVID-19 crisis page on travel.state.gov for the latest information.
- Check with your airlines, cruise lines, or travel operators regarding any updated information about your travel plans and/or restrictions.
- Visit our Embassy webpage on COVID-19for information on conditions in Namibia.
- Visit the Department of Homeland Security’s website on the latest travel restrictions to the United States
Assistance:
- U.S. Embassy Windhoek, Namibia
14 Lossen St., Ausspannplatz, Windhoek
+264-61-295-8522; +264-85-686-0853 (U.S. citizen emergencies after hours)
ConsularWindhoek@state.gov
https://na.usembassy.gov/ - State Department – Consular Affairs
888-407-4747 202-501-4444 - Namibia Country Information
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