Tanzania’s President, John Pombe Magufuli has said his enemies will speak but the reality is that Tanzania is coronavirus-free -media reported on Tuesday.
Magufuli again attributed his country’s success against the global pandemic to prayers.
“We decided to pray to God to save us from the Coronavirus. God has answered our prayers,” he said at State House in Dodoma.
“Tanzania is safe and this is evident by the many airlines that are bringing tourists,” he added.
“Our enemies will speak a lot, but the reality remains that Tanzania is safe and that is why none of us here is putting on a mask. Does it mean we are not afraid of dying? No, it is because corona has been eliminated.” Magufuli said.
He also asked every local leader in Tanzania to use his or her capacity to be an ambassador to the rest of the world.
Magufuli first declared Tanzania corona-free in May, 2020 during a Church service at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ULCT) in his hometown, Chato. He also gave a testimony of his biological son who healed completely from coronavirus courtesy of local herbs.
President Magufuli, who did not announce a lockdown in his country argued that Tanzania’s handling of COVID-19 is in such a way that the countries economy comes first before everything else.
The Tanzanian government stopped publishing data on the number of covid-19 cases in the country.
On 29 April, the last day official data was released, there were 509 cases, with 21 deaths in Tanzania. However, Mr Magufuli said that only four patients were receiving treatment in the largest city, Dar es Salaam.
The Tanzanian government has now started a process to issue coronavirus clearance certificates to both citizens and foreigners living in the country who plan to travel to countries where the documents are required.
According to a statement issued by Minister for Health Ummy Mwalimu, the fee for screening is TSh40,000 for Tanzanians, TSh60,000 for foreigners who are residents and $100 for visitors in the country.
In a statement released to the media, the minister said that travelers who have a Covid-19 clearance certificate will only be seen to be legal after it is stamped and verified electronically.