“I urge #Tanzania to step up public health measures, such as wearing masks to fight # COVID19. Science shows that #VaccinesWork and I are urging the government to prepare for a COVID vaccination campaign,” he said. dr. Matshidiso Moeti, director of the Africa region, dr. Matshidiso Moeti, said on January 28th. , following President John Magufuli’s comments from the previous day. “WHO is here to support the government and residents of Tanzania,” Moeti added.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoed Moeti’s remarks, adding: “I agree with @ MoetiTshidi’s call for strong health measures and # COVID19 vaccine preparation. Sharing data by #Tanzania is also important, with cases appearing among travelers and visitors over the months. “
President Magufuli, who was re-elected in a contested election in October 2020, downplayed the virus and said the Ministry of Health should not rush to buy vaccines.
“There are some of our fellow Tanzanians who have recently traveled abroad in search of corona vaccines, they are the ones who brought corona back into our country after returning,” Magufuli said at an event on January 27. said. ‘My fellow Tanzanians, let’s face it, some of these vaccines are not good for us. ‘
“I have really urged the Ministry of Health to be very, very careful with all the vaccines that are imported into our country, and not all vaccines are of good intention for our country. It is important that our Tanzanians be very careful with some of these vaccines “imported into our country,” he said.
“We must put our God first, but at the same time we are taking all the necessary measures, measures to protect health from this disease, as advised by our country’s health experts,” Magufuli said. “We (Tanzanians) have been living without the virus for almost a year, and good proof is that we do not disguise most of us here,” he added.
During a news conference on Monday (February 1), Tanzania’s Minister of Health Dorothy Gwajima did not say when the country would receive vaccines, but reiterated the government’s proposed hygiene practices, which include drinking plenty of water and taking include local herbs. claims, without evidence, can fight the virus.
Tanzania has not updated its Covid-19 data since the end of April, leaving the last number of reported confirmed cases at 509 and the death toll at 21. These are also the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University on its website.
Asked about Tanzania’s approach to dealing with the pandemic, Dr. John Nkengasong, director of the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the continent needed to be united in its response to the virus in order to succeed.
“Africa works with a strong coordination of the African Union (AU). Our position is clear that we must express unity of purpose in order to succeed as a continent,” Nkengasong said.
“Tanzania is a wonderful country, was a wonderful country in Africa that preached and promoted the values of unity on the continent,” he said. “So great cooperation and great solidarity and a great sense of unity of purpose from Tanzania is highly appreciated in this critical moment in our history.”
CNN’s Brent Swails and a CNN source in Tanzania contributed to this report.