AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE Zanzibar Health Minister Hamad Rashid Mohamed has dismissed speculation on social media that the Isles has so far recorded 235 Covid-19 positive cases and 32 fatalities since the outbreak of respiratory disease on the Isles March 18, this year.
“We have no reason to hide the truth, we will announce the most up-to-date information on Covid-19 whenever we are ready to do so,” Mr Mohamed said in a statement issued yesterday.
“We ask members of the public to trust us as a reliable source of information,” the Health Minister added.
He insisted that as of last Thursday, Zanzibar had recorded five (5) deaths out of 134 recorded cases of the coronavirus,
“Feel free to visit our offices for clarifications,” he appealed.
Mr Mohamed condemned people releasing false data, saying misinformation only fuelled public panic.
“Publishing information with the aim of causing panic is against laws regarding use of national emblem, statistics Act, and Cybercrimes Act,” he warned.
Unknown person published or distributed the dismissed information on social media last Thursday.
The false information was printed in the Ministry of Health’s ‘letterhead.’
As the world still struggles to find ways to stop the spread of the virus including a vaccine, the Minister emphasized on the importance of social distancing and the need to take it seriously.
More than 4 million cases of Coronavirus have been recorded worldwide, including at least 279,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
