‘Prayers Have Worked’ — Magufuli Declares Tanzania Corona-free
Tanzania’s President John Magufuli says the country is now “coronavirus-free”.
Magufuli told church goers in Dar es Salaam that their prayers helped in the fight against coronavirus. He thanked the congregants for refusing to wear masks and gloves as recommended by healthcare professionals and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The corona disease has been eliminated thanks to God,” Magufuli told worshippers in a church in the capital, Dodoma.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern over the government’s strategy on Covid-19.
The government has stopped publishing data on the number of coronavirus 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 last week that only four patients were receiving treatment in the largest city, Dar es Salaam.
Last month, Tanzania’s government dismissed a US embassy warning that hospitals in Dar es Salaam were “overwhelmed” and that the chances of contracting the virus was “extremely high”.
Magufuli has repeatedly said the health crisis has been exaggerated and urged people to attend services in churches and mosques, saying that prayers “can vanquish” the virus.