PRETORIA - As the coronavirus continues to spread in Africa and other parts of the world, Tanzania’s president John Magufuli on Friday called on individuals to avoid unnecessary personal contact such as kissing and handshakes.
The Citizen publication reported that Magufuli warned that despite not recording a single case of Covid-19, Tanzania was not safe from the pandemic.
“We should avoid handshakes and kissing, Tanzania is yet to report case of corona [coronavirus] but that does not mean that the country is safe,” the president was quoted as saying by The Citizen.
The Tanzanian leader also appealed to local media to dedicate time to educate communities about the outbreak.
The remarks came as Africa’s economic powerhouse, South Africa, announced that its number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 had risen to 24. The number of positive cases is expected to increase as health authorities are verifying positive results.
The South African health ministry announced that there were four new infections in Gauteng, and two each in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
The eight new patients who were confirmed on Friday had all travelled abroad, the ministry said. Half had returned from Switzerland.