Namibia prez, First Lady 'holding on well' after contracting COVID-19

Namibian president Hage Geingob says he is 'holding on well' hours after the presidency announced that he and the First Lady, Monica Geingos, had contracted COVID-19.

A statement from the presidency read in part: "The Presidency would like to inform the nation that President Hage G. Geingob and the First Lady, Madame Monica Geingos tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday evening, 26 May 2021. The President and the First Lady are in good spirits and self-isolating at their residence."

Geingob said he posted a general appreciation tweet because he had failed to respond individually to the many well wishes.

"I thank you all for the kind well-wishes after our positive #Covid-19 test. I vainly tried to thank you individually until my finger got tired from typing.

"First Lady and I are holding on well and your outpouring of support for our recovery is truly appreciated. God Bless You," his tweet read.

The southern African country has as at May 27 recorded 53,432 confirmed cases of the virus including 779 deaths, according to data published by the World Health Organization.

The country has administered 67,984 vaccine doses.