NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – The president of Tanzania is finally recognizing that his country has a coronavirus problem after claiming for months that the disease was won by prayer.
Populist President John Magufuli on Sunday urged citizens of the East African country to take precautions and even wear masks – but only those made locally. During the course of the pandemic, he expressed caution about products made abroad, including COVID-19 vaccines.
The president’s comments came days after the country of some 60 million people mourned the death of one of its most prominent politicians, the vice president of the semi-autonomous island region of Zanzibar, whose political party had previously said it had COVID-19. The president’s chief secretary also died in recent days, although the cause has not been revealed.
Magufuli, speaking at the chief secretary’s funeral on a national television broadcast on Friday, urged the nation to participate in three days of prayer for unspecified “respiratory” illnesses that have become a challenge in the country.
Tanzania has not updated the number of coronavirus infections since April, as the president insisted that COVID-19 was defeated. The official number of coronavirus infections in Tanzania remains just 509, but residents report that many people have become ill with breathing difficulties and hospitals have seen an increase in the number of “pneumonia” patients.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added his voice to growing calls for Tanzania to recognize COVID-19 for the good of its citizens, neighboring countries and the world, especially after several countries reported that visitors who arriving from Tanzania tested positive for the virus.
Tedros in a statement on Saturday called the situation in Tanzania “very worrying” and called on the Magufuli government to take “robust measures”. Others who have recently expressed concern include the United States and the local Catholic Church.