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MINISTER LIZZIE DIFFERS WITH TANZANIA PRESIDENT

14/06/2020 05:57:00 BY MFANUKHONA NKAMBULE

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mfanukhona@times.co.sz

MBABANE – Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi’s views to slow down the spread of coronavirus differs from that of Tanzania’s President, Dr John Magufuli.
Dr. Magufuli, whose country is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), does not understand why countries implemented lockdowns when there was one case or none altogether but eased or planned to do away with it when there are so many people who have contracted the virus.

In response, the minister of health assumed the president was speaking for Tanzania, not the whole world, as lockdowns helped to slow down the spread of the coronavirus.
She mentioned that Eswatini was able to conduct risk assessment, on which their response was based, and further built a laboratory. The minister disclosed that the country, in particular, was modelling on reality.

RISK ASSESSMENT

“We knew why we did it. We respond to risk assessment now. We have facts we collected from people on the ground. With limited resources, we were able to do a lot of things and prevent the spread of the virus,” she said. Government said 200 000 people would have been infected if the lockdowns were not implemented. The total number of COVID-19 confirmed cases to date is 472 by June 12, 2020. There are three deaths, with 246 people having recovered. The ministry reported that 94 people were admitted, while 106 were put on home care and 23 were registered for care.

The first case of coronavirus in the country was announced on March 13, 2020. The partial lockdown started on March 27, 2020.
Eswatini is currently on eased partial lockdown. Meanwhile, President Dr Magufuli, armed with a Master’s Degree and PhD in Chemistry, said he would not put his country on lockdown because neighbours could still come to Tanzania to ask for food when ‘they are done with theirs (lockdowns)’.
“There is not going to be any such thing as lockdown in Tanzania, God will help us. We need to work hard, once the other East Africans are done with their lockdown, they will come to us, and we shall still help them with food, we will not discriminate against them,” he said.

Magufuli said hospitals in his country showed a growing trend of recoveries and promised to open more public places such as schools and universities.
“If the trend I am seeing continues in the coming week, I plan to open up universities so students can continue with their education,” he assured the Tanzanians
Magufuli’s government has been criticised for a lack of transparency regarding the toll that COVID-19 has taken, with the last official update on April 29 listing 480 cases.
However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recorded 509 cases, 21 deaths and 183 recoveries.

Meanwhile, the civil aviation authority announced yesterday that all restrictions on air travel had been lifted, paving the way for passenger flights to begin operations.
“Following the decrease of COVID-19 reported cases, the United Republic of Tanzania has decided to relax travel restrictions to gradually allow resumption of economic activities in air transport,” the TCAA said on Twitter.
The Health Ministry has also said incoming travelers will only be screened at the point of entry and not be subjected to quarantine.

Tourism is Tanzania’s second highest employer after agriculture. The sector was impacted heavily by the virus disruption.
On another note, President Magufuli ruled out the possibility of locking down the country’s commercial hub, Dar es Salaam, even as the coronavirus continues to spread.
“There are those who have suggested that we put Dar es Salaam on lockdown. This is not possible,” he said last week.

“Dar es Salaam is the only centre where we collect almost 80 per cent of the country’s revenue. We can continue taking all measures to curb the virus but not by locking down Dar es Salaam,” he added.
Mr Magufuli was addressing a joint meeting of heads of defence and security in his home town Chato where he touched on several issues, chief among them was the fight against Covid-19.
According to the president, there are several people who have recovered (almost 100) but very few have since been declared officially.

“Preach positive messages about the pandemic because it is not true that everyone who dies it is because of the coronavirus,” he said.
Every Sunday, Magufuli visits the local church in his hometown of Chato in Tanzania’s northwestern region. After attending mass, he passes by the fish market on the shores of Lake Victoria and continues with business as usual in the midst of a global health crisis.

PREVENTATIVE MEASURES

While surrounding countries moved quickly to implement preventative measures against Covid-19, Tanzania’s president has repeatedly downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic.
No lockdown has been implemented and bars, restaurants and religious buildings remain open while Magufuli claims that prayer will protect against the deadly virus.
The lack of a response from the government has stoked fears that large swathes of the population have already been infected.

The US Embassy warned that “despite limited official reports, all evidence points to exponential growth of the epidemic in Dar es Salaam and other locations in Tanzania’.
Opposition MP Zitto Kabwe goes further. The leader of ACT-Wazalendo party claims that the number of infections is as much as seven times higher than the official figure of around 500, which would place Tanzania among sub-Saharan Africa’s most affected countries.
Despite this, just 21 deaths have been recorded.

The possibility of an uncontrolled health crisis is a growing concern for Tanzania’s neighbours. Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and former Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga, have urged Magufuli to change his approach, fearing that the unabated spread of the virus in Tanzania will eventually threaten their own ability to reopen borders.
Reportedly ignoring their calls, Tanzania’s president boycotted an East African Community (EAC) meeting to discuss Covid-19 on 12 May.
Zambia and Kenya have already closed their borders with Tanzania, fearing overlapping transmission, and its other neighbours could well follow suit.

BIZARRE CLAIM

In early May’, the president undermined Tanzania’s scientific community with a bizarre claim. Under his instruction, the security forces submitted samples of goat and papaya to the national laboratory, which subsequently tested positive for Covid-19.
This, he asserted, showed that the number of people testing positive for the virus was higher than it should be.
By mid-May, only around 650 tests had been conducted since the first case was announced on March 16, 73 per cent of which were positive – one of the highest rates in Africa.

Opposition politicians and activists have accused the government of concealing the true number of deaths linked to Covid-19 by burying deceased patients at night in Dar es Salaam and Arusha.