AfricaPress-Tanzania: Tanzania on Friday registered 53 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the total number of individuals confirmed to have contracted the virus to 147 as one patient succumbed to the pandemic, Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu announced.
According to the minister, all the new cases involved Tanzanians, adding that all the patients were progressing well.
However, she said that four out of the total number of patients were in critical condition due to other medical conditions they were facing.
With the death of one patient on Friday, the death toll has now reached five since the country reported its first case on March 16.
Speaking on the new cases in her briefing, Ms Mwalimu said 38 hail from the commercial hub of Dar es Salaam with Mwanza, Kilimanjaro, Kagera, Lindi and Coast region, registering one case each.
According to the minister, the remaining ten new cases confirmed on Friday involved residents of Zanzibar.
“The statistics might be a bit higher and shocking to some but it is crucial for Tanzanians to know the truth.
To those who thought we were joking, it is high time you started observing precautions issued by health experts,” she noted.
Ms Mwalimu further said all patients were under the supervision of healthcare providers at treatment centres.
She said 11 patients recovered while four were in critical condition.
The remaining 127 were under close monitoring but stable.
“We have observed that the four patients in critical state have other medical conditions such as heart ailments and kidney problems,” said Ms Mwalimu.
She asserted that the ministry was continuing to monitor and trace contacts and urged the public to adhere to measures to curb further spread of the virus, such as observing social distancing which most people still do not comply with it.
In Zanzibar, there are 10 new cases, bringing the total number of patients to 34, out of which four have been discharged, one died on Saturday and 30 are receiving treatment at designated centres in the Isles.
Meanwhile, Ms Mwalimu cautioned suspects not to go to Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) that was earlier designated as a sample collection centre but go to Amana Referral Hospital instead.
“The whole country depends on MNH for super-specialised services; if we allow the suspects to use it, it will be overwhelmed and we will put at risk a lot of services that most people depend on,” she said.
Ms Mwalimu said for that reason, the government has decided that all people suspected to have contracted COVID-19 should go to Amana Referral hospital in Ilala District.
On Wednesday the ministry announced that 29 more cases had tested positive in Dar es Salaam, whereas six people tested positive in Zanzibar.
Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019, 2,208,821 cases have been recorded worldwide, 558,715 recovered and 148,741 deaths.
