Corona Situation in Tanzania
May 23, 2020 • 424 words • 2 minutes
David Schellhaas
Dear friends of endarofta,we inform you here about the current situation of the school, as well as the country of Tanzania, against the backdrop of the Corona pandemic.Tanzania was spared from the global pandemic for a long time. Only at the end of March was the first confirmed case of a local person with Corona reported. Simultaneously, all schools and universities were closed, public events with audiences banned, and tourists had to undergo a 14-day quarantine. Exceptions to public events were church services, which, regardless of religion, were allowed and should continue as usual. Special prayer days related to Corona were introduced, during which locals were called to visit places of worship. No additional measures to contain the virus were taken.Since April, no official case numbers have been announced. President Magufuli, who has been living in seclusion in his hometown since the outbreak began and communicates only through press conferences, downplays the virus and spreads theories about it (“This is a time when some people somewhere are deliberately trying to infect Tanzania with Corona.”). The Süddeutsche Zeitung quoted the following words in an article: “If there were an international competition among heads of state and government to see who is the biggest Corona denier, it would probably be a close fight between Donald Trump, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, and Magufuli.” In the country praised for its exemplary democracy, a different wind has been blowing since the beginning of the crisis. Critics are silenced. For example, all employees of the Ministry of Health who criticize the president’s approach are gradually dismissed. The most prominent example is former Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Ndugulile, an internationally known immunologist.According to President Magufuli, the numbers have been decreasing since the last official report (509 on 29.04.2020). Contradicting this are reports from various sources, such as Kenyan border personnel, who reported 182 infected Tanzanian truck drivers in just the past few days. Private contacts in Tanzanian hospitals confirm this trend. These reports are ignored and downplayed by Magufuli (“Sometimes it is said that many drivers have tested positive. But how can they then drive many kilometers to the border for their Corona test – without collapsing beforehand?”). Accordingly, President Magufuli believes his country is on a good path out of the crisis. On 01.06., final-year students (similar to Germany’s Abitur students) are returning to school. Public events like the national football league are permitted again, with audiences. Tourists are also allowed to enter again without quarantine. The only requirement is a temperature check at the airport.