ERONGO police community affairs commander, Ileni Shapumba said the lockdown of the region is not punishment, but is being done for the protection of the residents.
President Hage Geingob on Monday
announced that Erongo will return to stage 1 of emergency regulations,
which started yesterday and will end on 22 June.
Walvis Bay returned to stage 1 lockdown just over a week ago after more coronavirus cases were recorded there.
The latest decision by Geingob to put the region in lockdown was based on possible cases of community infections of the virus.
Shapumba yesterday told The Namibian he was concerned the community was not taking the lockdown seriously.
“Last
week when Walvis Bay was in lockdown, people continued like everything
was normal, and when the police would address them, then everyone will
have an excuse. We understand it is not nice but we do not make the
rules; we enforce them,” he said.
He noted that the B2 highway
out of Erongo into the rest of Namibia was noticeably busy as people
‘fled’ the lockdown on Monday.
Even at Walvis Bay, which was already in stage 1 lockdown, several buses and taxis were stopped from leaving the town.
He
said Erongo has been divided into three zones – Walvis Bay (zone 1);
Swakopmund, Henties Bay and Arandis (zone 2); and Usakos, Karibib and
Omaruru (zone 3).
Roadblocks will be set up at all these towns
to restrict movement. Shapumba said the police were also shocked to see
long queues at various bottle stores as people rushed to stock up on
alcohol, as its sale is prohibited during stage 1 lockdown.
“There
were people that would walk away with a plastic bag or two for their
personal use, but there were many people who purchased large amounts of
alcohol, which we believe is not for personal use, but to sell
illegally,” he said, urging the community to report the illegal sale of
alcohol to the police.
Shapumba said there will be a strong
presence of law enforcement agencies in the region to ensure the
lockdown rules are adhered to.
“We are asking people to work with
us; not against us. We are in this together. If we work together, we
can ensure these type of emergency measures will not become frequent,”
he said.
