Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan plans to convene an expert committee to assess the Covid-19 pandemic and advise the government on how to proceed.
Tanzania, according to President Suluhu, needs a straightforward and understandable stance on the pandemic in order to make informed decisions.
She stated that the country cannot continue to rely on external reports on the pandemic because it lacks them.
“On the issue of Covid-19, I think I should form a committee of experts to look at it professionally and then advise the government. It should not be silenced, rejected or accepted without professional research,” she said.
“We cannot isolate ourselves as if we are an Island but also, we cannot accept everything brought to us. We cannot continue just reading about Covid-19 worldwide.”.
“Tanzania needs to have its own understanding of where we stand on the issue of Covid-19.”
Tanzanian data on the pandemic was last published almost a year ago, showing that the country had just 509 cases.
At the time, late President John Magufuli stated that his country was free of Covid-19, and that local treatments such as steam therapy were encouraged.
Despite the World Health Organization’s (WHO) insistence that the vaccine is needed to stop the spread of the virus, Magufuli’s government said Tanzania will not procure vaccines.
