Written by Angella Semu
Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has told worshippers in a church in the capital, Dodoma that the country is now “Covid-19 free” as a result of prayers offered by citizens.
Reports indicate that Tanzania government published the last update on the number of coronavirus cases in the country on 29 April with 480 confirmed cases and 21 deaths and World Health Organization (WHO) has recently expressed concern over the government’s strategy on curbing the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.
Magufuli however revealed last week that there were only four patient receiving treatment for the novel Coronavirus in the largest city, Dar es Salaam.
In his remarks when delivery the good to the citizens, the president commended all citizens in the country of all faiths for taking their time to pray for the pandemic.
He also urged all people to attend services in churches and mosques which he believes can eliminate the virus completely from the surface of the earth.
Magufuli has also however condemned people in his country and across the world for exaggerating the health crisis.
Despite the reported milestone, opposition politicians in the country have been accusing the country’s president of playing down the threat posed by the pandemic and refusing to impose a strict lockdown as many other leaders have done in various countries in Africa and across the world.
A report by The Guardian indicated that Magufuli rejected advice from the WHO on social distancing to restrict transmission of the disease. He has instead commended the priest and worshippers for not wearing gloves and masks to protect themselves from the virus in the country.
He reportedly dismissed a US embassy warning that hospitals in Dar es Salaam were “overwhelmed” and that the chances of contracting the virus was “extremely high”.
Mugufuli is among a number of African presidents who reportedly requested the herbal tonic publicized by Madagascar’s president as a possible cure for the Covid-19 although it is unknown if Covid-19 patients in the country have fully recovered due to the herbal.