THE government has refuted the circulating rumour about the presence of a foreigner in Dar es Salaam who is suspected of having contracted the deadly coronavirus.
The Acting head of Communication Unit in the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Catherine Sungura, said on Friday that members of the public should remain calm because so far there was no case of coronavirus reported in the country.
Ms Sungura explained that the Ministry of Health in collaboration with authorities in charge of health in Dar es Salaam made follow ups on the rumours and discovered that the suspected Chinese national who arrived in Tanzania on February 2 this year had not contracted the viral disease.
“A team of health experts visited the residence of the suspected patient and conducted tests which showed that the Chinese national has not contracted the viral disease,” Ms Sungura said.
The ministry called upon media and members of the public to stop circulating information on the outbreak of coronavirus which had not been approved by relevant authorities.
She said the government has intensified health screening in major entry points – borders and airports – for incoming and outgoing passengers. Ms Sungura said the government will continue updating the public on the viral disease.
The ministry, however, said Tanzanians should not stigmatise foreigners, especially those with Chinese origin and those who wear masks because they are protecting themselves from the disease and it was a normal routine used globally in overcrowded areas.
According to a press statement released yesterday by the Embassy of China in Tanzania, as of February 6, there were 31,161 confirmed cases and 26,359 suspected cases reported in mainland China, with 1,540 patients cured and discharged from hospital, and 636 fatalities.
It said by midday of February 6 this year, 19 foreign nationals in China were confirmed of novel coronavirus pneumonia, among whom two have been cured and discharged from hospital while the other 17 were being treated in isolation with stable health conditions. None of them are Tanzanians.
The statement further detailed that with China’s unrelenting efforts, the mortality rate of novel coronavirus in China is about 2.1 per cent, much lower than the mortality rates of 2009 H1N1 flu, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) of 2012 and Ebola, which are 17.4, 34.4 and 40.4 per cent respectively.
In addition, the statement said the cases of transmission of novel coronavirus from infected persons with no symptoms are very rare because the infected persons with no symptoms account for only a small proportion of all infected persons, and the number of viruses in those persons are very few.
It said currently, China is working with the international community to develop vaccines for the virus and sort out effective medicines to cure the disease, some of which have entered the clinical test stage.
The impact of the coronavirus epidemic on China’s economy is temporary and confined to the service sector.
It has not shaken the fundamental basis of China’s economy. For that reason, the international community continues to be optimistic about China’s economic prospect.
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva said the outbreak may have an impact on China’s economy in the short term, but the Chinese government has ample policy space to stabilise growth.
The World Bank also noted that the Chinese government has the policy space to respond and has announced a sizeable injection of liquidity, which should help mitigate the costs to economic growth.
