COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania

On 16 March, the first case in Tanzania was confirmed in Arusha.[10][11] It was a 46-year-old Tanzanian who had come to Arusha from Belgium.[12]

On 17 March, the Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa announced a range of measures, including closing schools.[13]

On 18 March, two other cases in Tanzania were reported.[14]

On 19 March, two new cases were reported, bringing the total to six. Five cases were located in capital city of Dar es Salaam with the other in Zanzibar.[15]

On 22 March, it was announced that cases had risen to 12.[16]

On 23 March, the Government announced that all incoming travelers from COVID affected countries would be placed in quarantine at their own cost for 14 days.[17]

On 25 March, it was announced that Zanzibar recorded its second case.[18]

On 26 March, the first COVID recovery was announced, of the first Arusha patient.[19]

On 28 March, a third case was recorded in Zanzibar.[20]

On 30 March, there were 5 more recorded cases, including two in Zanzibar and three in mainland Tanzania, bringing the cumulative total to 19.[21]

On 31 March, the first COVID death was recorded, in Dar es Salaam.[22]

On 1 April, one new case and one recovery in Dar es Salaam were announced, bringing the cumulative totals to 20 cases, two recoveries, and one death.[23]

On 3 April, a third recovery in Kagera was announced, bringing the active case number to 16.[24]

On 5 April, two new cases were reported in Zanzibar.

On 6 April, a further two new cases were reported in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, bringing the cumulative total to 24.[25]

On 7 April, two more cases recovered, bringing total recoveries to five.[26]

On 8 April, one new case was recorded. President John Magufuli urged the faithfuls to go to pray in churches and mosques in the belief that it will protect them. He said that the coronavirus is a devil, therefore "cannot survive in the body of Jesus Christ, it will burn".[27]

On 10 April, it was announced that there were five new cases on mainland, two new cases on Zanzibar, and two deaths on the mainland, bringing the cumulative case count to 32, and cumulative deaths to three.[28]

On 12 April, all international passenger flights were suspended.[29]

On 13 April, it was announced that there were 14 new cases on mainland, and three new cases in Zanzibar. In addition, two recoveries in Zanzibar were announced.[30][31]

On 14 April, the Prime Minister announced four more cases in Dar es Salaam, bringing the cumulative total to 53 cases.

On 15 April, Zanzibar health minister Hamad Rashid Mohammed, reported six more cases, two recoveries, and its first death.[32] On the same day, 29 new cases on mainland were recorded. This brought the cumulative total for Tanzania to 88, with cumulative recoveries of 11 and cumulative deaths of four.[33]

On 16 April, six people tested positive in Zanzibar, bringing the total to 94.[34]

On 17 April, 53 people tested positive, 38 in Dar es Salaam, 10 in Zanzibar, 1 in Mwanza, 1 in Pwani, 1 in Lindi, and 1 in Kagera, bringing the total to 147 and cumulative death of 5 people.[35]

On 19 April, 23 new cases were reported in Zanzibar, where 2 people died.[36]

On 20 April, a further 87 people were reported to be infected with the virus, including 16 from Zanzibar. In addition, 3 new deaths on the mainland were reported, bringing cumulative deaths in Tanzania to 10.[37]

On 22 April 22, the Prime Minister announces the case count had risen to 284, with 11 recovered and the death toll remaining at 10. [38]

On 24 April 24, 37 more patients had recovered,[39] while 15 more were infected with the disease in Zanzibar.[40]

On 28 April 28, 7 patients in Zanzibar tested positive.[41]

On 29 April 29, 196 more people were infected, bringing the total to 480, where 167 had recovered and 16 died.

On 2 May, opposition leader Freeman Mbowe called for the suspension of Parliament for at least three weeks after the deaths of three MP's (Gertrude Rwakatare, Richard Ndassa and Augustine Mahiga) of unknown causes in the previous eleven days. He blamed the deaths on COVID-19 and asked for testing for all MP's, parliament staff and family members.[42]

On 4 May, President John Magufuli suspended the head of testing at Tanzania’s national health laboratory after the lab allegedly returned false positive test results. Magufuli said he'd deliberately submitted biological samples from a papaya, a quail and a goat to test the laboratory's accuracy; the lab diagnosed these samples as positive for coronavirus.[3]

On 7 May, it was announced that for Zanzibar, the cumulative total of recorded cases was 134, the cumulative number of recoveries was 16 and the cumulative numbers of recorded deaths was 5. Of the active cases, 41 were at health facilities and 72 were cared for and follow up at home.[43]

Tanzanian authorities stopped reporting case numbers in May.[44][45] Several truck drivers tested positive at the Kenya border, and Kenya closed the border for non-cargo.[46] The two countries agreed to supply testing and facilities for truckers.[47]

On 21 May, the President announced that colleges will reopen and form six secondary school students will return to school from 1 June, sports will resume from 1 June, and that international flights will resume, without any quarantine, from 27 May.[48]

Opposition activists accused the government of covering up the true scale of the pandemic, claiming that, while the official stats remained stuck on 509 cases and 26 deaths, with no test results being reported since 4 May, at least 412 have died in Dar es Salaam alone, and that 16,000 to 20,000 people have been infected countrywide.[49]

On 8 June, President Magufuli said that thanks to prayers by its citizens, Tanzania is now free of coronanvirus.[50]

On 16 June, the president announced that schools at all levels would re-open on 29th June.[51]