Kassim Majaliwa said he was surprised that people were questioning the president’s whereabouts, adding that the leader was “fine and continuing his day-to-day activities,” as he spoke during a Friday prayer session at a mosque in the Njombe region, according to Tanzania state broadcaster. Broadcaster.
Unconfirmed reports have appeared in regional media suggesting the leader was admitted to Nairobi Hospital for Covid-19 this week. CNN has not been able to confirm the status of the president.
Over the course of the pandemic, Magufuli had downplayed its dangers by previously claiming that Tanzania had defeated Covid-19 through prayer and insisting that the virus posed no threat to the East African nation. He has questioned the safety of foreign Covid-19 vaccines and has made no plan to purchase vaccines for his country, but is pushing for the use of herbal remedies and steam treatments.
Tanzania has not reported Covid-19 figures since April 2020, prompting the World Health Organization to call on Tanzania to publish data on the coronavirus and step up public health measures. Last month, the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam warned that the cases of Covid-19 have been increasing sharply since January.
Cases where infected Tanzanians travel abroad have underscored the need for “robust action,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a Feb. 20 statement.
Two people who traveled from Tanzania to the UK carried the B.1351 variant first discovered in South Africa, which appears to be more transmissible than other versions of the virus, and which is part of the immune protection of antibodies.
“The WHO has not yet received information about the measures Tanzania is taking to respond to the pandemic,” said Tedros. “I renew my call to Tanzania to start reporting Covid-19 cases and sharing data.”