AfricaPress-Tanzania: PRESIDENT John Magufuli on Wednesday warned the Ministry of Health against rush- ing to acquiring vaccines for the Covid-19 pan- demic without verifying their efficacy.
He also ruled out government’s imposition of a lockdown to the country, thus allowing people to continue with their daily economic activities.
The President also called upon Tanzanians to be firm and continue praying to God while taking precautions against the pandemic as issued by health experts. The Head of State said any decision to adopt Covid-19 vaccines should not be taken lightly.
“Not every vaccine is beneficial to our nation, the ministry should be extra careful on this issue to avoid leading the country into trouble. Tanzanians should stand firm and stop being guinea pigs for such vaccines because they may face irreparable consequences to the country,” he said.
He said that the ministry should be careful in dealing with issues related to the health of Tanzanians without hurrying to acquire vaccines developed by other nations. He urged Tanzanians to stand firm and ignore threats imposed on them, saying all precautions must be taken in line with prayers against the scourge.
“The country has stayed for more than a year without the virus, our God is above Satan and he (Satan) will always fail,” Dr Magufuli said at the launch of Silayo Forest Plantation in Geita Region.
He called upon relevant authorities to encourage tree planting without forgetting natural trees which are crucial for traditional medicines.
Dr Magufuli further called upon Tanzanians to continue working hard, especially at this time when other nations have imposed lockdowns to their people.
President Magufuli assured the nation that he will never impose lockdowns, saying the country will continue to take precautionary measures, including the use of traditional medicines.
“I am not planning to impose lockdown in this country; we will observe all preventive measures under God’s help,” he noted.
Tanzania is among few African countries which did not impose lockdowns as it battled against coronavirus pandemic President Magufuli insisted that Tanzanians will always be free to conduct their daily undertakings, including farming and other activities for the country’s economic growth.
While most of global and regional leaders were panicking and shutting down businesses, President Magufuli chose to go the other path and stood by it. On May 18, last year, the president reiterated that lockdown is not the best option for Tanzania to counter the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr Magufuli maintained his government’s stance not to emulate the lockdown measures, insisting that they would cause severe problems to the ordinary Tanzanians.
The Head of State said closing the country would mean restricting economic activities and movement of people, which would eventually hamper all development programmes. He urged people to stop panicking, but observing preventive and protective guidelines on the virus and at the same time participating in nation building activities.
He refused to ‘lockdown’ wananchi and businesses, arguing that no one knows for how long the pandemic would last.
“Locking down people and closing businesses would have greater social and economic impact than the impact of the disease itself,” the President said
