Tanzania is one of the few countries in the world to not publish any data on Covid-19 cases/AFP
A week after the US advised against all travel to Tanzania its embassy in the East African country has said it is “aware of significant number of Covid-19 cases since January 2021”.
Mitigation and prevention measures against the virus remained limited, a statement from the embassy said.
It warned that Tanzania’s health facilities could be quickly overwhelmed if the situation continued.
Tanzania is one of the few countries in the world to not publish any data on Covid-19 cases – last doing so in May.
A month later, President John Magufuli declared the country to be “coronavirus-free”.
Yet the authorities have continued to give mixed messages about the virus.
Last week the health minister recommended a vegetable smoothie and steam inhalation as a way of prevention.
This came a few days after Mr Magufuli had warned officials against importing Covid-19 vaccines saying they could harm people, without giving evidence.
In another development, officials have dismissed allegations made by The Open University of Tanzania that coronavirus is “spreading fast” in the country.
The institution’s administrators had breached health protocols and had expressed a personal opinion, the education minister said in a statement.
-BBC
