AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE Second Vice-President, Ambassador Seif Ali Iddi, has come out of selfquarantine with a call to the general public to take social distancing seriously and that the mandatory quarantine for people from abroad should not be regarded as a punishment.
The vice-president spent 14 days plus seven extra days in self-isolation after returning from Cuba at the time when the Ministry of Health had imposed 14-days compulsory quarantine for people returning from abroad.
“I had to comply and follow the advice from health experts as one of the effective ways of controlling the worsening COVID- 19 outbreak,” he said.
He said self-quarantine and observing all health precautions will save the people from the deadly corona- virus which has spread worldwide, disrupting social, political and economic activities.
Ambassador Iddi’s quarantine which started three weeks ago was not announced.
During his time in quarantine at his home, Iddi was monitored by health practitioners and had no physical contact with outsiders.
The second vice President thanked Health Ministers Ms Ummy Mwalimu (Union government), and Mr Hamad Rashid (Zanzibar) for tireless efforts in awakening the public about the pandemic.
Meanwhile, in supporting the government in the battle against COVID-19, members of the business community led by Ambassador Abdulsamad Abdulrahman and AMREF donated several items including food, medical and sanitary facilities worth more than 100m/-.
Mr Abdulrahman, Brazil’s honorary consul in Zanzibar, on behalf of the donors, including Vigor- Turkeys group of companies, Bakhressa group companies, and Advent- Construction handed over the items to the State Minister, Mr Mohamed Aboud Mohamed, who thanked the donors, saying the war against corona virus “must involve all people. Everyone in the country has a role to play in controlling the spread.”
He named some of the items as toilet rolls, bottled water, 100 water tanks with capacity of 200-litres each, sugar, rice, cooking, and sanitary equipment (soap, sanitizers) and stand-by trucks for logistics if required.
The food and medical supplies will be used in quarantine centres in Unguja and Pemba, while water tanks and sanitary supplies will be placed at market places, hospitals, and other risk places with big populations, to facilitate hand washing.
“Members of the business community, including some in the Middle East, have accepted to contribute to the construction of a modern medical laboratory (which will also be used to test corona-virus),” Abdulrahaman said at the handing over ceremony held at the premises of the Ministry of Information, Tourism and Antiquities.
The construction, already underway, is planned to take three months.
At a different event, the director of Mnazi Mmoja Referral Hospital, Dr Jamala Taib, received donations from AMREF Health Africa and some staff from the United Nations (UN) liaison offices, including disposable beddings and sanitary Supplies, estimated to cost more than 7m/-.
