IRINGA Urban, MP Peter Msigwa has requested the House to suspend its scheduled proceedings temporarily to debate the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
Immediately after the Question and Answer session, Mr Msigwa stood up seeking the Speaker’s guidance under Parliamentary Standing Orders, charging that the World Health Organisation (WHO), had declared the disease a global emergency.
“Many countries have been taking their nationals out of China, therefore it is equally important for Tanzania to find out the number of Tanzanians living, studying or doing business in China and look on the best ways to rescue them from the deadly disease,’’ he said adding: “What is the government’s plan to bring back to the country, Tanzanians who are living in China after WHO declared the ongoing coronavirus a global emergency? he asked.
However, in his guidance, Speaker of the National Assembly Job Ndugai advised the Iringa Urban MP to wait for a response from the government.
“I think your questions are very relevant, what I can advise you is to give time to the government so that they come up with proper answers instead of suspending business in the House to debate the matter.”
WHO declared the outbreak sparked by a new virus in China that has been exported to more than a dozen countries as a global emergency on Thursday after the number of cases spiked tenfold in a week.
The UN health agency defines an international emergency as an “extraordinary event” that constitutes a risk to other countries and requires a coordinated international response.
“The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries,” said WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press conference.
By Thursday 23:00 hours, the number of people who had died due to the virus in China had increased to 171 while globally 8,152 cases of coronavirus had been confirmed.
The embassy said despite the high numbers of confirmed cases, at least 141 people had been treated, cured and discharged.
