AfricaPress-Tanzania: AS the nation records achievement in taming imported cases of Covid-19, efforts must now be focused on taking precautionary measures to avoid generating home-grown cases.
The Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu, made the call yesterday in Dar es Salaam when she met religious leaders, who she said had a pivotal role to play in sensitising the public on the deadly disease.
“To a great extent we have managed to tame imported cases. Currently we are focusing on local transmission and if the public is not educated on how to take precautions, we will soon move to community transmission. Religious have a key role to play in this,” Ms Mwalimu remarked.
She said the government would next week issue a trend and projections outlook of the spread of novel Coronavirus in the country.
“Another appeal to our religious leaders is that let’s continue praying; science is there but let’s also pray,” she told the religious leaders in a meeting held yesterday in Dar es Salaam.
The meeting, which was organised by World Vision Tanzania, was aimed at taking the religious leaders on board in the battle against the disease.
“Religious leaders have a unique opportunity to send messages to the community. Y ou have your own way of communicating, which also brings hopes,” Ms Mwalimu stated.
She told the clerics to also consider taking precautions such as social distancing, shortening the time of worship and encourage hand washing to worshipers during prayer sessions.
“If possible, you need to disinfect your buildings for prayers after every gathering,” she told them.
On other hand, she said, the government contemplates issuing new guideline on wearing face masks.
She said although the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines stress that wearing face masks was for affected people and those who attend the patients, the government may consider encouraging wearing of masks by all people when leaving their homes or going to places with gatherings.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr John Jingu, said yesterday’s meeting was for one big reason; because the country was at war.
The meeting was in implementation of a directive from the minister to organise a meeting with spiritual leaders because divine intervention was also crucial.
“This war also requires changing our behaviours; so we need religious leaders to help us make community members change their attitude,” Dr Jingu stated.
He said since the religious leaders always serve members of the public, it was easy for them to reach out to the people and communicate the message over how to protect them from contracting the disease,” he said.
On his part, World Vision Tanzania National Director Gilbert Kamanga said clerics needed to discuss and come up with a way forward on how to tackle Covid-19.
“The world vision believes that religious leaders have an opportunity to fight any calamity. We look forward to seeing how the religious leaders would take part in the battle against the disease,” Mr Kamanga pointed out.
He assured that the organisation was committed to ensure that children’s welfare was protected during the current health crisis.
“So we are here to ensure that we (World Vision) effectively participate in the fight against the disease,” he stressed.
He said his key message to religious leaders was that they should know that Covid-19 was real; therefore, their duty was to educate the people on the infections of the disease, noting that awareness was still low.
“This is not a political matter; let’s work together because Covid- 19 is real,” he stated.
Dar es Salaam Regional Sheikh Alhad Mussa Salum said religious leaders were ready to receive directives or guidelines from the government On fighting the disease in their mosques and churches.
“We are people of God; we believe in prayers, we will continue praying for God’s mercy,” he said, as he welcomed the stance by President John Magufuli that houses of worship should remain open for us to continue praying and crying out to the Almighty God,” he said.
